ICC Rejects Israeli Bid to Halt Gaza War Crimes Probe, Maintains Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

The Hague (QNN)- Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected on Monday one of Israel’s legal challenges seeking to block an investigation into war crimes during the genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

On appeal, judges refused to overturn a lower court decision that the prosecution’s investigation into crimes in Israel’s war on Gaza.

The decision clears the way for the continuation of the court’s Palestine investigation, which led to the issuance of arrest warrants in November last year for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This ruling focuses on only one of several Israeli legal challenges against the ICC investigations and the arrest warrants for its officials. There is no timeline for the court to rule on the various other challenges to its jurisdiction in this case.

The appeal focused on whether the ICC prosecutor was required to issue a fresh notification to Israel before investigating events that took place after October 7, 2023. Israel claimed that the post-October 7 assault on Gaza constituted a new situation, triggered by additional referrals submitted to the court by seven other countries since November 2023, including South Africa, Chile and Mexico.

Judges rejected that claim, ruling that the original notification issued in 2021 – when the ICC formally opened its investigation into crimes in occupied Palestine – already covered later events.

They said no new notification was required, meaning the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant remain valid.

The ruling comes as Israel continues its genocide in Gaza despite the fragile ceasefire which took effect on October 10, killing at least 400 Palestinians and wounding 1,063 others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Since October 7, 2023, the Ministry added, over 70,600 Palestinians have been killed and 171,139 injured.