War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity – ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

By Romana Rubeo

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.

One expression In a notice published on Thursday, the ICC announced that it had “issued an arrest warrant for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between at least 8 October 2023 and at least 20 May 2024.” “The prosecutor’s office applied for an arrest warrant.”

Alleged war crimes include using starvation as a weapon of war and committing murder, cruelty and other inhumane acts.

The ICC emphasized that Israel was not required to accept the court’s jurisdiction and announced the arrest warrants in the interests of the victims.

ICC: The International Criminal Court issued two arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. pic.twitter.com/MbX8iIfOah

— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 21, 2024

According to the statement, the Court found: “There are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals deliberately and knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel” and electricity from at least October 8, 2023 through May 20, 2024.”

The court also found that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “were criminally responsible, as civilian superiors, for the war crime of carrying out deliberate attacks against the civilian population of Gaza.”

“In this context, the Chamber found that the material provided by the Prosecutor’s Office only allowed it to obtain findings regarding two incidents that were characterized as intentional attacks against civilians,” the statement said.

In addition to Netanyahu and Galant, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed al-Deif, commander of Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.

The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, first requested the arrest warrant in May, arguing that Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for causing mass starvation in Gaza, which constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the ICC and denied committing war crimes in Gaza.

Israel’s foreign ministry argued in September that the ICC lacked jurisdiction and did not give Israel the opportunity to investigate the allegations before issuing an arrest warrant.

Ongoing Genocide

Israel has faced international condemnation for its ongoing brutal assault on Gaza, in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Israel, which is currently on trial at the International Court of Justice for the crime of genocide against Palestinians, has been waging a devastating war in Gaza since October 7.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 44,056 Palestinians were killed was killed104,268 people were injured in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has continued since October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 unnamed people are estimated to have died under the rubble of their homes along the strip.

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Israel says 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed at Al-Aqsa Mosque on October 7. Israeli media published reports that day claiming that many Israelis were killed as a result of ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and injured are women and children.

The Israeli war led to a severe famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the deaths of many Palestinians, mostly children.

Israel’s aggression also resulted in the forced displacement of nearly two million people from across the Gaza Strip; The vast majority of those displaced were forced into the densely populated southern city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, which has become Palestine’s largest city. Mass migration since the Nakba of 1948.

In the later stages of the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began to migrate from the south towards the center of Gaza in search of permanent security.

(History of Palestine)

– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and editor-in-chief of the Palestine Chronicle. His articles have been published in many online newspapers and academic journals. He holds a master’s degree in Foreign Languages ​​and Literature and specializes in audiovisual and journalistic translations.