International court prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leaders

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday issued arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister, while the court’s prosecutor said have found evidence of war crimes committed in the ongoing war between the militant group and the state of Israel.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a declaration that Sinwar, the head of the Hamas movement in Gaza, Haniyeh, the main political leader of Hamas, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, the commander of Hamas’ military wing, “bear criminal responsibility” for war crimes committed against Israel, including hostage taking, sexual violence, extermination and torture.

“We assert that the charged crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Israel by Hamas and other armed groups in accordance with organizational policies,” Khan wrote.

Khan also said that Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are criminally responsible for starvation as a method of war, intentional targeting of civilians, extermination and persecution, among other war crimes.

Under development

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