ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor Karim Khan has called for the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Defense Minister, and three leaders of the Palestinian Hamas group. Khan believes that they are all guilty of war crimes committed during Hamas's attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.

In an official statement published on the ICC's website, Khan asserts that Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, the political wing leader Ismail Haniyeh, and military division leader Mohammed Diab al-Masri are responsible for crimes against humanity, as well as other war crimes. The statement identifies Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as culpable for using starvation as a method of warfare, killing civilians, and committing other war crimes.

ICC judges will now have to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to issue arrest warrants. It remains unclear how long it will take for the court to review the case. According to BBC correspondents, there can be several weeks or even months between the prosecutor's submission and the decision regarding an arrest.