International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Cancels Israel Visit, Demands Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

By Yoni Weiss

International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan unexpectedly canceled a planned fact-finding mission to Israel on the same day he announced his intention to seek arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Reuters reported on Friday.

Eight sources with direct knowledge confirmed the cancellation to Reuters. Khan had been planning the visit for months to gather evidence for a potential investigation into war crimes against Israel and Hamas stemming from the war that began with the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.

Khan announced on May 20 that he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, believing he had sufficient evidence without a planned mission. He also said he would seek arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

Khan told CNN that the charges against the Hamas leaders include “extermination, murder, hostage-taking and assault in custody.” For Israeli officials, the charges include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including denying humanitarian aid deliveries and deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”

Khan’s claim that Israel was using starvation as a method of war was based on reports of famine in the Gaza Strip that were later found to be false or exaggerated in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report in late June.

Khan’s statement drew criticism in Israel for equating Israeli leaders with Hamas leaders, ignoring Israel’s powerful judiciary and attacking a country over which the ICC supposedly has no jurisdiction. The US and UK also criticised the decision on similar grounds.

The International Criminal Court has not yet taken any action in response to Khan’s request for an arrest warrant.