Arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Hamas officials issued by International Criminal Court

THE HAGUE - Arrest warrants were issued on Thursday by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, and Hamas officials – accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The arrest warrants come 13 months into the war in Gaza and after the October 2023 attack on Israel.

Here’s what to know:

What Netanyahu, others have said

Netanyahu on Thursday condemned the arrest warrant from the ICC against him, saying Israel "rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions." In a statement released by his office, he added: "There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza."

Overall, Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have condemned ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for warrants as disgraceful and antisemitic. 

U.S. President Joe Biden also criticized the prosecutor and expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. Hamas also blasted the request.

Meanwhile, human rights groups have applauded the recent decision.

"The ICC arrest warrants against senior Israeli leaders and a Hamas official break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law," the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, Balkees Jarrah, said in a statement.

Who was issued an arrest warrant?

The three-judge panel issued a unanimous decision to issue warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

"The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity," the decision said.

The court also issued a warrant for Mohammed Deif, one of the leaders of Hamas, over the October 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza. 

The ICC chief prosecutor withdrew his request for warrants for two other senior Hamas figures, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, after they were both killed in the conflict.

What are the implications of the ICC arrest warrants?

The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a cease-fire to end the fighting, according to the Associated Press. 

However, the practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court, and two of the Hamas officials were already killed in the conflict, the AP noted. 

The ICC is a court of last resort that only prosecutes cases when domestic law enforcement authorities cannot or will not investigate. 

Israel is not a member state of the court. The country has struggled to investigate itself in the past, rights groups say.

Despite the warrants, none of the suspects is likely to face judges in The Hague anytime soon. The court itself has no police to enforce warrants, instead relying on cooperation from its member states.

Even so, the threat of arrest could make it difficult for Netanyahu and Gallant to travel abroad, although Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted on an ICC warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, recently showed he could still visit an ally when he traveled to Mongolia, one of the court’s member states, and was not arrested.

Member countries are required to detain suspects if a warrant has been issued if they set foot on their soil, but the court lacks a mechanism to enforce its warrants.

Israel-Hamas war: By the numbers

In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive into Gaza that has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who don’t say how many were fighters. 

It has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused heavy destruction across the besieged territory.

Hamas is still holding around 100 hostages, about a third of whom are believed to be dead. 

Most of the rest were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a cease-fire last November.