“The House considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals have intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of items indispensable to their survival, including food, water and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity,” the parliament writes. three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision to issue warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, one of the leaders of Hamas. The ICC’s chief prosecutor had also sought warrants for two other senior Hamas figures, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, but they were both killed in the conflict.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in September that it had filed two legal documents challenging the ICC’s jurisdiction, arguing that the court did not give Israel the opportunity to investigate the allegations themselves before seeking the warrants.

“No other democracy with an independent and respected legal system like the one in Israel has been treated in this prejudicial way by the prosecutor,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on X. He said Israel remained “steadfast in its commitment to the rule.” law and justice” and would continue to protect its citizens against militancy.

The ICC is a last resort that only prosecutes cases when domestic law enforcement agencies are unable or unwilling to investigate. Israel is not a member of the court. The country has struggled to investigate itself in the past, rights groups say.

Despite the decisions, none of the suspects is likely to face a judge in The Hague anytime soon. The court itself has no police force to enforce decisions, relying instead 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 indicated he could still visit an ally when he traveled . to Mongolia, one of the member states of the court, and was not arrested.

Khan sought the warrant in May, accusing Netanyahu and Gallant of crimes including murder, intentionally attacking civilians and persecution.

In a statement at the time, Khan claimed that Israel has “deliberately and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of items indispensable for human survival” by closing border crossings into the territory and restricting essential supplies including food and medicine.

At the same time, he charged three Hamas leaders – Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh – with crimes linked to the October 7, 2023 attacks, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting another 250. The three leaders are accused of crimes including murder, extermination, hostage-taking, rape and torture.

“The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Deif, born in 1965, the supreme commander of the military wing of Hamas (known as the al-Qassam Brigades) at the time of the alleged conduct, is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other forms of sexual violence; as well as the crimes of murder, cruel treatment, hostage-taking; dignity; and rape and other forms of sexual violence,” said a statement.

Prosecutors withdrew their request for an arrest warrant for Haniyeh, who was killed in what was believed to be an Israeli attack in Iran in July. Israel also claims to have killed Deif, but Hamas has not confirmed his death. Sinwar, who was promoted to succeed Haniyeh as Hamas leader, was killed in an accidental front-line encounter with Israeli troops in October.

Human rights groups have applauded the decision, which came more than six months after Khan made his first request.

“The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for senior Israeli leaders and a Hamas official shatter the notion that some individuals are beyond the reach of the law,” Balkees Jarrah, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Israel’s opposition leaders strongly criticized the ICC’s move.

Benny Gantz, a retired general and political rival of Netanyahu, condemned the decision, saying it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain of historic proportions that will never be forgotten.”

Yair Lapid, another opposition leader, called it a “price for terror”.