ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant for Gaza 'war crimes'

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, the court announced on X/Twitter.

Situation in the State of Palestine:#ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. Learn more ⤵️ https://t.co/opHUjZG8BL

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) November 21, 2024

"ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant," the post read.

The ICC said that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other humane acts.

The court says it found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant knowingly deprived Gaza’s civilian population of essential supplies, including food, water, fuel, and medical aid, in violation of international humanitarian law.

These actions allegedly created life-threatening conditions, leading to civilian deaths from malnutrition and dehydration. The disruption of medical supplies also resulted in extreme suffering, including surgeries performed without anesthesia.

The ICC says it found that decisions to allow limited humanitarian aid were often conditional and "not made to fulfill Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law or to ensure that the civilian population in Gaza would be adequately supplied." Rather these decisions were a response to international pressure and requests by the US, the court said. 

The ICC stressed that whether the decisions were conditional or not, "increases in humanitarian assistance were not sufficient to improve the population’s access to essential goods."

According to the court, there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that there was no clear military need or other justification under international law to justify restrictions on humanitarian relief operations.

The Prime Minister's Office responded to the warrants, calling the decision antisemitic. 

"The antisemitic decision of the International Criminal Court is equivalent to a modern-day Dreyfus trial—and it will end the same way," the PMO said.  

"Israel vehemently rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body."

The PMO also said that the decision was made by "a corrupt chief prosecutor attempting to save himself from severe allegations of sexual harassment, and by biased judges driven by antisemitic hatred toward Israel," accusing prosecutor Karim Khan of lying to US senators when he said he would not "act against Israel before visiting" Israel. 

"No anti-Israel decision will prevent the State of Israel from defending its citizens," the PMO added, saying that the prime minister "will not succumb to pressure, will not be deterred, and will not retreat until all the war objectives set by Israel at the start of the campaign are achieved."

This means that neither Netanyahu nor Gallant can travel to any of the 120 countries that are party to the Rome Statute.

While the warrants were classified as "secret" to "protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations," the court released the information because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing," it said. 

The court also said it would be in the best interest of the victims and families that they be made aware of the warrant's existence.

Additionally, the court issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif.

The Prosecution had initially filed applications for warrants of arrest for two other senior leaders of Hamas, namely Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. Following confirmation of their deaths, the Chamber granted the withdrawal of the applications on 9 August 2024 and 25 October 2024, respectively.

Regarding Deif, the Prosecution indicated that it would continue to gather information with respect to his reported death. On 15 November 2024, the Prosecution, referring to information from both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities, notified the Chamber that it is not in a position to determine whether Deif has been killed or remains alive. Therefore, the Chamber issues the present warrant of arrest.

Notably, both Israel and Hamas have confirmed Deif's assassination.

Israel's objections

Israel had filed an official objection to the ICC regarding the legality of the prosecutor's request to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant in September.

Israel claimed that the court has no authority to discuss the Palestinian complaint against it, which recently led to the prosecutor's request to issue arrest warrants against the prime minister and the defense minister.

These claims were rejected in pre-trial, with the chamber noting that "the acceptance by Israel of the Court’s jurisdiction is not required, as the Court can exercise its jurisdiction on the basis of territorial jurisdiction of Palestine, as determined by Pre-Trial Chamber I in a previous composition."

The court also said that "the Prosecution notified Israel of the initiation of an investigation in 2021. At that time, despite a clarification request by the Prosecution, Israel elected not to pursue any request for deferral of the investigation," rejecting Israel's second objection.

Anna Barsky and Eve Young contributed to this report.