Iranian Khamenei demands death penalty for Israeli leaders after ICC arrest warrant

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iran’s religious leader who supports Hamas and Hezbollah militants Fighting Israel in Gaza and LebanonHe said on Monday that Israeli leaders should be given the death penalty, not an arrest warrant.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was commenting on a decision of the International Criminal Court last week issue an arrest warrant For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense chief and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri.

Referring to Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Khamenei said, “They issued an arrest warrant. This is not enough. … These criminal leaders should be given the death penalty.”

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In their ruling, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as weapons of war as part of a “widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population of Gaza”.

The decision was met with outrage in Israel, calling it shameful and absurd. Gaza residents expressed hope that this would help end the violence and bring those responsible for alleged war crimes to justice.

Israel rejects the Hague-based court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.

More: ICC issues arrest warrant for Israeli Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leader

The arrest warrant against Al-Masri includes accusations of rape and hostage-taking, as well as mass murders in the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war on the long-blockaded Palestinian region.

An estimated 1,200 Israelis were killed in a 2023 Hamas offensive and 43,000 Palestinians died in the war in Gaza, according to the region’s health ministry.

Israel said Killed Masri, also known as Mohammed DeifIt carried out an airstrike in July, but Hamas neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

This article first appeared on USA TODAY: Iran’s religious leader seeks death penalty for Netanyahu and Gallant