STORY: :: The Hague, the Netherlands
:: May 20, 2024
Karim Khan, ICC prosecutor
"I can also confirm today that I have reasonable grounds to believe, on the basis of evidence collected and examined by my office, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant bear criminal responsibility for the following international crimes committed on the territory of the state of Palestine from at least the 8th of October 2023. The crimes include starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, wilfully causing great suffering, serious injury to body or health, or cruel treatment, wilful killing or murder and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population; as well as crimes against humanity of extermination and/or murder, persecution and allegation of crimes committing other inhumane acts."
"I have reasonable grounds to believe the three senior leaders of Hamas - Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab (Al-Masri) and Ismail Haniyeh - bear criminal responsibility for the following international crimes committed on the territory of Israel and the state of Palestine from at least the 7th of October 2023: extermination as a crime against humanity, murder as a crime against humanity and as a war crime, the taking of hostages as a war crime, rape and other acts of sexual violence during captivity as crimes against humanity and as war crimes, torture during captivity as a crime against humanity and as a war crime, other inhumane acts during captivity as a crime against humanity, cruel treatment during captivity as a warcrime, and outrageous upon personal dignity during captivity as a war crime."
Prosecutor Karim Khan's office said it suspected all five - Netanyahu, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh - bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Israel or the Gaza Strip.
Israel has denied committing war crimes in the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The ICC's decision "equates the victim with the executioner," a senior Hamas official told Reuters.
It will be up to the court's pre-trial judges to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to issue warrants.
