International Criminal Court Seeks Arrest Warrants for Israeli Prime Minister and 3 Hamas Leaders

"Now more than ever," an ICC prosecutor wrote, "we must collectively demonstrate that international humanitarian law, the foundational baseline for human conduct during conflict, applies to all individuals"

On Monday, May 20, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Callant, and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed al-MasriI for war crimes committed in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

ICC prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan detailed the offenses in a statement, alleging that the Hamas leaders "bear criminal responsibility" for crimes committed in both countries following the Oct. 7 terror attacks including extermination and murder, taking hostages, torture, rape and other acts of sexual violence.

The investigation — which included interviews with victims, survivors and hostages, as well as CCTV footage, audio/photo/video material, and statements by Hamas members — finds Sinwar, Haniyeh and al-Masril responsible for the killing of "hundreds of Israeli civilians" and "the taking of at least 245 hostages."

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Khan expressed "gratitude" to the survivors and families of victims who took part in the investigation and reiterated his call for "the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel and for the safe return to their families," calling it "a fundamental requirement of international humanitarian law."

"We remain focused on further deepening our investigations of all crimes committed as part of these attacks and will continue to work with all partners to ensure that justice is delivered," the statement read.

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Conversely, the warrants for Netanyahu and Callant are being issued for crimes committed against Palestinians since Oct. 8, including the starvation of civilians, willfully causing great suffering, willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, extermination, and other inhumane acts.

ICC noted that the war crimes were committed "in the context of an international armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, and a non-international armed conflict between Israel and Hamas (together with other Palestinian Armed Groups) running in parallel."

"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," Khan wrote.

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Evidence to support the offenses were derived from interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, video/photo/audio material, and satellite imagery and statements from the alleged perpetrators.

ICC stated that "Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival."

According to The Hill, the arrest warrants were leaked to the press in April and drew backlash from Israel and Republican lawmakers. CNN reports that the warrants against Netanyahu and Callant mark the first time the intergovernmental organization — which was founded in 2002 — has "targeted the top leader of a close ally of the United States," and puts the two Israeli politicians in the ranks of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom ICC issued a warrant for in 2023.

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As of Monday, more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 79,000 wounded in Gaza since October, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, whose data has not be independently verified.

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Khan addressed the warrants in a press conference, where he called for equality in applying the law: "If it is seen as being applied selectively, we will be creating the conditions for its complete collapse. And in doing so, we will be loosening the remaining bonds that hold us together — the stabilizing connections between all communities, all individuals, the safety net to which all victims look to in terms of suffering."

The prosecutor continued, "This is the true risk we face at this perilous moment. Now more than ever, we must collectively demonstrate that international humanitarian law, the foundational baseline for human conduct during conflict, applies to all individuals and applies equally across situations addressed by my office and by the court. This is how we will prove tangibly in real terms for all victims, that the lives of all human beings, wherever they may be, have equal value."

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