‘Anti-semitic’ International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli PM Netanyahu AND Hamas’s new leader
ARREST warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister and Hamas' new leader, accusing them of war crimes.
Israel has previously accused the International Criminal Court - which issued the warrants - of being anti-semitic.
One of the warrants announced on Thursday was for the leader of Hamas - Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri - also known as Mohammed Deif.
He was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza in July this year.
The warrants accuse each man of crimes against humanity after more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Hamas launched a horrific massacre in Israel on October 7 2023 - slaughtering some 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 more.
Israel then invaded the Gaza Strip with the aim of destroying Hamas and according to local health officials, some 44,000 people have died there since.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan's decision to pursue a warrant against Netanyahu has previously sparked outrage, with one Israeli minister branding it “a distortion of justice.”
The arrest applications were previously submitted for Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas' now-dead political leader Ismail Haniyeh and military chief Deif in May this year.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz raged at the time: “While Hamas murderers and rapists commit crimes against humanity, the prosecutor mentions in the same breath the prime minister and defence minister of Israel alongside the vile Nazi-like monsters of Hamas – a historical disgrace that will be remembered forever."
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz added: “The State of Israel is waging one of the just wars fought in modern history following a massacre perpetrated by terrorist Hamas on October 7.
“The prosecutor’s position to apply for arrest warrants is in itself a crime of historic proportion."
Israel has faced international backlash over its handling of the war in Gaza - where much of the Strip has been obliterated and millions displaced.
Famine and lack of access to medical care is also a serious humanitarian issue in the war-ravaged enclave.
Some 100 hostages are still thought to be held hostage in Gaza.
It is not known how many of them are still alive.
