“Bring them back now”: Relatives of Israeli hostages file complaint against Hamas before the International Criminal Court

More than a hundred Israeli hostages are still in the hands of Hamas terrorists. On February 14, their relatives traveled to The Hague, Netherlands, to demonstrate in front of the International Criminal Court. They filed a complaint against the leaders of the Islamist group for crimes against humanity. The demonstrators, who traveled from kibbutzim in southern Israel that had been stormed four months earlier, accompanied their complaint with images and testimonies of the terrorist attacks of October 7.

Hope for arrest warrants against terrorist leaders

Many are former captives, but their loved ones are still held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. “Bring them back now,” these families pleaded before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, a photo of their loved ones in hand. Families surrounded on site by a few hundred people who came to demonstrate to support them. With this additional complaint, the families of the hostages hope to advance the investigation and soon see the issuance of arrest warrants against Hamas leaders.

After the attacks of October 7, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, had already announced the opening of an investigation targeting the terrorist movement. He visited the region in early December.

Towards a future land operation against Rafah?

On the front, Israel continues its offensive on the Gaza Strip, particularly on the town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border. An operation denounced by numerous international channels, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand but also France. Emmanuel Macron in fact told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the operations “must stop” because “the human toll and the humanitarian situation” are “intolerable”. More than 1.5 million Palestinian civilians are refugees in Rafah and Israeli hostages may also be held there.