“SECRET” WARRANTS
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.”
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan in May requested the court issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Netanyahu sacked Gallant as defence minister on Nov 5.
Khan also sought warrants against top Hamas leaders including Mohammed Deif on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The prosecutor dropped the application for Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s political leader, on Aug 2 “because of the changed circumstances caused by Mr Haniyeh’s death” in Tehran on Jul 31, the ICC earlier said in a statement.
Khan also requested warrants against former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was also killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Since Hamas conducted its Oct 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 on Thursday that at least 44,056 people had been killed in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The toll includes 71 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 104,268 people had been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
