Israel-Gaza war: ICC chief prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar

Of the Hamas actions on October 7, he said that he saw for himself “the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unconscionable crimes charged in the applications filed today.

Speaking with survivors, I heard how the love within a family, the deepest bonds between a parent and a child, were contorted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated cruelty and extreme callousness. These acts demand accountability.”

A senior Hamas official told Reuters on Monday, that the ICC’s decision to seek arrest warrants for three leading Hamas militants “equates the victim with the executioner”.

Sami Abu Zuhri also said the ICC decision gives encouragement to Israel to continue its “war of extermination” in Gaza.

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, also dismissed the ICC’s announcement, calling the possible arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant “a disaster”.

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz described the ICC’s decision as “a crime of historic proportion”.

“Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a bloodthirsty terror organisation [Hamas] is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy,” Gantz said.