The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, charging both with war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the October 7 attacks in Israel and the ensuing Israeli military onslaught in the Gaza Strip.
The ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan made the announcement in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday.
Khan stated that the ICC also seeks warrants for Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and two other senior Hamas leaders: Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas.
The warrants against Israeli officials mark the first time the ICC has targeted the top leader of a close U.S. ally. This decision places Netanyahu in a similar position to Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom the ICC has issued a warrant related to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
