The International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and a senior Hamas official places them among a small group of leaders accused of crimes against humanity.
The court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Deif, a Hamas leader whom Israel claims to have killed.
A three-judge court panel said the warrants were based on “reasonable grounds” that Netanyahu and Gallant bear responsibility for a war crime and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, where more than 44,000 people are believed to have been killed and more than 104,000 injured during the 13-month war between Israel and Hamas.
Netanyahu condemned the arrest warrant, saying Israel “rejects with disgust these absurd and false actions.”
The arrest warrant for Deif said there was reason to believe he was involved in murder, rape, torture and hostage-taking amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity for the group’s attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in these attacks and another 250 were kidnapped.
Hamas said it welcomed the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant after what it called decades of injustice due to a “fascist occupation.”
The Hamas statement did not refer to the arrest warrant for Deif. Israel claims to have killed him in an airstrike, but Hamas has never confirmed his death.
Here’s a closer look at the ICC and its charges against Israeli and Hamas leaders:
What is the ICC?
The ICC is the permanent court of last resort, established in 2002 to prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.
The Court’s 124 member states signed the treaty that created the Court. Dozens of countries have not signed and do not accept the jurisdiction of the Court. Among them are Israel, the United States, Russia and China.
The ICC intervenes when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes committed on their territory. Israel says it has a functioning justice system and that disputes over a country’s ability or willingness to prosecute have fueled past disputes between the court and individual countries.
Although the arrest warrants could complicate foreign travel for Netanyahu and Gallant, they are unlikely to face judges in The Hague anytime soon. Member countries are required to arrest suspects on warrants if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way of enforcing this.
ICC judges have issued around 60 arrest warrants and 21 people have been arrested and appeared in court, according to its website. Around thirty people are still on the run. The court handed down 11 convictions and four acquittals.
What are the Israeli arrest warrants about?
The court said there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant, who was replaced earlier this month, bear responsibility as co-perpetrators for the war crime of starvation and crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
The court said that while it was unable to reach a conclusion on the crime against humanity of extermination, it said the murder charge was supported by allegations that the residents of Gaza were deprived of basic necessities such as food, water, electricity and medical supplies. This created conditions “calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza”, which resulted in the deaths of children and others from malnutrition and dehydration.
The court also found that by preventing hospital supplies and medicines from entering Gaza, doctors were forced to operate and carry out amputations without anesthesia or dangerous means of sedation, resulting in “great suffering.” .
The court said it found two incidents in which the evidence provided by the prosecution allowed it to conclude that the attacks were intentionally directed against civilians. He said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant failed to prevent these attacks.
Although the arrest warrants are classified to protect witnesses, the court said it provided some information because the conduct that inspired the warrants appeared to be continuing. He also said he wants victims and their families to know about the arrest warrants.
What is behind the Hamas arrest warrant?
Deif, who was the top commander of Hamas’s military wing, allegedly ordered the October 7 attack and failed to prevent it.
The court said the mass massacre of people in several Israeli settlements and an open-air concert constituted a crime against humanity and a war crime of murder. He also found that these attacks constituted a war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilians.
Additionally, the judges found that allegations of sexual assault on captives and hostages – most of them women – constituted reasonable grounds for crimes against humanity and war crimes, both torture and of rape.
What happened with the other arrest warrants?
Last year, the court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for child kidnappings in Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for Khan and the ICC judges.
The chances of Putin being tried by the ICC are very unlikely because Moscow does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Court and does not extradite its nationals.
Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebels shortly after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him on charges related to the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011.
One of Africa’s most notorious warlords, Joseph Kony, was the subject of an ICC arrest warrant in 2005. As leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in the north of Uganda, he faces 12 counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual slavery and rape. 21 counts of war crimes. Despite an internationally-backed manhunt and a $5 million reward, Kony remains at large.
Former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC on charges related to the conflict in Darfur. Al-Bashir was the subject of arrest warrants in 2009.
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