By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for arrest warrants against top Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday that his office had applied for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders for crimes committed during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza.
Khan said he was seeking warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes including “starvation”, “wilful killing”, and “extermination and/or murder”.
“We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population pursuant to State policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day,” said Khan.
The charges laid against the Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, the head of the movement, include “extermination”, “rape and other acts of sexual violence”, and “taking hostages as a war crime”.
“We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Israel by Hamas and other armed groups pursuant to organisational policies,” read the statement.
He said his office interviewed victims and survivors, including former hostages and eyewitnesses from six major attack locations.
He says the investigation also relies on evidence such as CCTV footage, authenticated audio, photo and video material, statements by Hamas members, and expert evidence.
“It is the view of my office that these individuals planned and instigated the commission of crimes on 7 October 2023 and have, through their own actions, including personal visits to hostages shortly after their kidnapping, acknowledged their responsibility for those crimes,” Khan said.
“My office also submits there are reasonable grounds to believe that hostages taken from Israel have been kept in inhumane conditions and that some have been subject to sexual violence, including rape while being held in captivity.”
Concerning Netanyahu and Gallant, Khan said he has reasonable grounds to believe they bear criminal responsibility for the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population,
“The effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known, and have been confirmed by multiple witnesses interviewed by my office, including local and international medical doctors.
“They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children, and women,” Khan added.
Hamas denounced the application for arrest warrants for its leaders and Israeli officials, which it said “equates the victim with the executioner”.
In a statement, the group said it has the right to said it has the right to resist Israeli occupation, including “armed resistance.”
Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognise its jurisdiction. Several Israeli ministers denounced Khan’s announcement.
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz said the move was a “crime of historic proportion”.
“Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organisation is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy,” Gantz said.