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Gaza: ICC issues arrest warrants for Israelis Netanyahu and Hamas' Gallant and Deif

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif. Israel claimed in August that it had killed Mr. Deif.

The three judges of the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I unanimously issued the warrants on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes that the court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, said were committed in the context of the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

The pre-trial chamber issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, better known as Mohammed Deif, for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine from at least 7 October 2023.

The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Deif is criminally responsible for the above-mentioned crimes for having committed the acts jointly and through other persons, for ordering or inciting the commission of the crimes, and for failing to exercise adequate control over the forces under his effective control.
Deif considered the architect of the October 7, 2023 attack
According to the ICC, he is responsible, as leader of Hamas, for "crimes against humanity such as murder, extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as war crimes such as murder, cruel treatment, torture, hostage-taking, outrages on personal dignity, rape and other forms of sexual violence".

The Chamber found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that, during the period under review, international humanitarian law relating to the international armed conflict (between Israel and Palestine) and the non-international armed conflict (between Israel and Hamas) applied.

It also concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack by Hamas and other armed groups against Israel's civilian population.

Mohammed Deif, believed to be the architect of the October 7, 2023 attack, was reportedly killed on July 13 in a strike in the Gaza Strip, according to media reports relaying information from the Israeli army.

The ICC rejected 2 Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction
At the same time, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber rejected two Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction, stating that "Israel's acceptance of the Court's jurisdiction is not necessary, since the Court can exercise its jurisdiction on the basis of Palestine's territorial jurisdiction."

It has therefore issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the Gaza Strip.

There are "reasonable grounds" to believe that Gallant and Netanyahu "intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of items essential to its survival, including food, water, medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity," the statement continued, which covers only part of the allegations made against them.

According to the ICC, the two Israeli officials each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of making starvation a method of warfare; and crimes against humanity consisting of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

It should be noted that the arrest warrants are classified as "secret", in order to protect witnesses and preserve the conduct of investigations. However, the Chamber has decided to disclose the information below as behaviour similar to that targeted by the arrest warrant appears to be ongoing. In addition, the Chamber considers that it is in the interest of the victims and their families that they be informed of the existence of the warrants.