International Criminal Court seeks arrest of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar

The International Criminal Court is seeking arrests warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The ICC's Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan KC has applied for the warrants on war crimes charges.

Speaking to CNN, Khan said that charges against Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict”.

In a statement, Khan said: "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.”

He added that Israel has “intentionally and systemically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival”.

Statement of #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of #Palestine ⤵️https://t.co/WqDZecXFZq

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) May 20, 2024

In relation to Hamas, Khan said charges against leaders Sinwar, Haniyeh and al-Masri include “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention”, and that there are grounds to believe the men  “are criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October 2023 and the taking of at least 245 hostages”.

Located in The Hauge, The ICC has been investigating Israel's actions in the occupied territories for three years, more recently extending its attention to the actions of Hamas.

"Today we once again underline that international law and the laws of armed conflict apply to all," Kahn's statement continued. "No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader – no one – can act with impunity. Nothing can justify wilfully depriving human beings, including so many women and children, the basic necessities required for life. Nothing can justify the taking of hostages or the targeting of civilians.

"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 the situations addressed by my Office and the Court."

In March 2023 it issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.