Israeli PM, Hamas leader in Gaza, subject of potential arrest warrants

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, accusing them of war crimes.

Chief prosecutor Karim Khan KC asserted that there are reasonable grounds to believe both leaders are criminally responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity since at least 7 October 2023.

The arrest warrants also target Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the group's military chief Mohammed Deif. The ICC has been investigating Israeli actions in the occupied territories and more recently those of Hamas for the past three years.

Netanyahu condemned the potential inclusion of senior Israeli figures on the ICC's wanted list, calling it "an outrage of historic proportions." 

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet and a political rival of Netanyahu, criticised the prosecutor's decision, stating that equating leaders of a democratic state defending against terror with leaders of a terror organisation is a severe misjudgment of justice and morality.

ICC judges will now review the evidence to decide if arrest warrants should be issued, a process that can take weeks or months, depending on the complexity of the case.