The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, The Netherlands, has applied for an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. This was reported by Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in a statement on Monday (20 May). Khan also wants two other Hamas leaders, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh, as well as Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, arrested.
According to Khan, the Hamas members should be prosecuted for the 7 October attacks on Israel and the war that followed. Khan suspects them of "extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape and sexual abuse in captivity". Netanyahu and Gallant are suspected of "starving civilians as a method of warfare, deliberately attacking civilians, extermination and murder".
The arrest petitions have yet to be reviewed and approved by a panel of Criminal Court judges.
