THE HAGUE, Nov 21: The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are based on allegations of their involvement in starvation tactics and persecution of Palestinians in Gaza during the ongoing conflict. ICC judges concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that both leaders were criminally responsible for depriving Gaza’s civilian population of essential supplies such as food, water, medicine, and electricity.

Meanwhile, the warrant for Al-Masri pertains to his alleged role in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, which marked the start of the Gaza war. The charges include mass killings, rape, and hostage-taking. The prosecution has continued to gather evidence regarding his death, as Israel claims to have killed him in an airstrike. However, Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan had announced in May that he was seeking warrants linked to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military response in Gaza. The court’s decision has sparked reactions from Israeli officials, with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett labeling the decision as a “mark of shame” for the ICC. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the move, calling it “a reward for terrorism.”

Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denied any war crimes committed in Gaza. The ICC does not have its own police force to enforce arrest warrants and depends on its member states to carry out such actions. Member countries include EU nations, Britain, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and others, including Jordan and the Palestinian territories in the Middle East.

Both Israeli and Hamas leaders have dismissed the ICC’s allegations of war crimes.