An arrest warrant has been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a statement shared to its website, the ICC said the arrest warrant related to alleged war crimes. Netanyahu's former defence minister and Hamas officials are also accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest," the ICC said in the statement issued today.
The ICC said it had "found reasonable grounds" that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant's activities as part of the government had committed alleged crimes against humanity against the civilian population of Gaza. Israel launched an offensive into the neighbouring Gaza strip after hundreds of its citizens were killed or taken captive during the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack carried out by Hamas operatives - the organisation effectively controls the Palestinian region.
But tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children, have been killed in air strikes and by Israeli army members following the start of the conflict. Israel's government has said it bemoans the loss of civilian lives and that Hamas terrorists effectively use the population as human shields.
The ICC added: "The Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that the abovementioned conduct deprived a significant portion of the civilian population in Gaza of their fundamental rights, including the rights to life and health, and that the population was targeted based on political and/or national grounds. It therefore found that the crime against humanity of persecution was committed."
It also claimed to have found that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant "bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilians in Gaza. "Reasonable grounds to believe exist that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant, despite having measures available to them to prevent or repress the commission of crimes or ensure the submittal of the matter to the competent authorities, failed to do so," the ICC said in the statement.
The court said material provided by the prosecution only allowed it to make findings on two incidents that qualified as attacks that were "intentionally directed against civilians."
Netanyahu condemned the arrest warrant against him, saying Israel "rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions." In a statement released by his office, he said: "There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza."
Since Israel launched its offensives in Gaza and southern Lebanon, numerous officials of the terrorist organisations Hamas and Hezbollah have been killed.
Among those killed include Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader believed to have been the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre. Hamas confirmed in October he had been killed while engaging Israeli forces in Tal as-Sultan, Rafah.