ICC issues arrest warrants for Israeli PM Netanyahu, Gallant, Deif for war crimes in Gaza

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim AA Khan said in May that he filed applications for the arrest of Netanyahu, Gallant and other senior Israeli officials. He had also sought arrest warrants for Hamas figures who have played key roles in the ongoing war, including leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in Gaza in October.

On Thursday, the court issued a separate arrest warrant for Deif, an alleged architect of the Oct. 7 terror attack that Israel said it killed earlier this year.

Deif was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including for his role in the Oct. 7 attack, in which Israeli officials said about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage, a major escalation in the decades-long conflict.

The ICC noted that Khan had originally filed applications for arrest warrants for Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, who was assassinated by Israel in July. But it said the applications were withdrawn after confirmation of their deaths.

The court launched an investigation three years ago into possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Palestinian militants dating back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.

Netanyahu has branded Khan a “rogue state prosecutor bent on demonizing the only Jewish state.”

And Thursday’s developments drew swift condemnation from Israeli officials, with President Isaac Herzog saying the arrest warrants marked a “dark day for justice” and “a dark day for humanity”.

“In bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has made universal justice a universal ridicule,” he said.

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be national security adviser, condemned the ICC, which he said has “no credibility.”

“Israel has legitimately defended its people and its borders against genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the anti-Semitic bias of the ICC and the UN in January,” he said in a post on X.

President Joe Biden has previously condemned the ICC’s efforts to issue arrest warrants as “outrageous,” suggesting they suggest a false “equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.

Some leading human rights advocates welcomed the decision.

“The court’s issuance of the arrest warrants is an important step forward for justice for the Palestinian civilians in Gaza, who until now have largely known injustice,” Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, told NBC News.

“All 125 members of the International Criminal Court are now bound to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they dare to set foot outside their territory,” he said Thursday, adding: “The world has suddenly become much smaller for Netanyahu and Gallant.”

Roth said governments that provide military support to Israel, including the United States — the country’s biggest arms supplier — should also take heed.

“Any government that continues to supply weapons to Israel while these crimes continue, which they do, is aware that they may be accused of complicity in these crimes,” he said.