In the eighth month of war in the Gaza Strip, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor requested the issuing of arrest warrants Monday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three top leaders of the Hamas Islamist movement for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.
According to the Quai d'Orsay (French Foreign Ministry), France "supports the International Criminal Court" whose prosecutor has requested arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and leaders of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement. "France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence and the fight against impunity in all situations," said a statement from the French Foreign Ministry regarding these arrest warrants.
"On October 7, France condemned the anti-Semitic massacres committed by Hamas. This terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the barbaric attacks against civilians, accompanied by acts of torture and sexual violence...," the statement said. Regarding Israel, the source mentioned that "France has been warning for several months about the imperative need to strictly respect international humanitarian law and especially the unacceptable nature of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip and insufficient humanitarian access." They also emphasized that a "sustainable political solution" is the "only" way to "restore a horizon of peace."
The International Criminal Court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes including "deliberate starvation of civilians" as a "method of war," "intentional killing," and "extermination and/or assassination." The charges against the Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, the group's leader in Gaza, include "extermination," "rape and other forms of sexual violence," and "taking hostages as a war crime.
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