Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif on Thursday over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The warrants are part of the ICC's investigation into actions during the conflict between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7, 2023.
The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are specifically for crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.
The warrant cites crimes which include persecution, murder, and other inhumane acts, as well as the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.
Netanyahu and Gallant are also accused of directing attacks against the civilian population.
The ICC's move now theoretically limits the movement of Netanyahu as any of the court's 124 national members would be obliged to arrest him on their territory.
The arrest warrants had been classified as "secret", to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations, the court said.
"However, the Chamber decided to release the information below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing," the tribunal said.
"Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants' existence."
Since Hamas conducted its October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza, which the militant group rules.
The war was triggered by the assault on Israel by Hamas militants, a stunning cross-border raid that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The Hamas government's health ministry in the Gaza Strip said Thursday that at least 44,056 people had been killed in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The AFP contributed to this report.
