“ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan’s attempt to turn the situation around will not succeed. The parallel he has drawn between the terrorist organization Hamas and the State of Israel is despicable and despicable,” Yoav said Gallant in a press release, in reference to the arrest warrants also requested against leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement.
“Prosecutor Karim Khan’s attempt to deny the State of Israel the right to defend itself and ensure the release of hostages held in Gaza must be explicitly rejected,” continued Yoav Gallant. Senior Israeli officials including President Isaac Herzog have criticized the ICC prosecutor’s approach targeting Netanyahu and Gallant.
Warrants also against Hamas leaders
Karim Khan announced Monday that he had requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes including “deliberate starvation of civilians,” “intentional homicide” and “extermination and/or murder” in connection with the operation Israeli in Gaza.
The ICC prosecutor also requested warrants against three senior Hamas officials — Ismaïl Haniyeh, Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinouar — for, among other things, “extermination,” “rape and other forms of sexual violence” and “taking of hostages as a war crime” linked to the attack by the Islamist movement on October 7 in Israel.
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel that day, which left more than 1,170 dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data. Palestinian fighters also took 252 people hostage during the attack, 124 of whom are still being held in Gaza and 37 of whom the army said died.
“No electricity, no food, no water, no gas”
Two days after the outbreak of war following the Hamas attack, Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents. “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — everything is closed,” Yoav Gallant said in a video message on October 9.
The Israeli army’s response against Hamas has left more than 35,500 dead in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data provided by the Hamas-led territory’s Health Ministry. On Tuesday, the Israeli army indicated that it was continuing its operations, particularly in Jabaliya (north of the Gaza Strip), in the center as well as in the town of Rafah, in the south, backing on the border with Egypt.