ICC Chief Prosecutor Cancels Israel Visit, Seeks Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

By Yoni Weiss

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

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

Khan announced on May 20 that he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, believing he had sufficient evidence without the planned mission. He also stated 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, taking of hostages, and assault in detention.” For the Israeli officials, charges include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, and deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”

Khan’s assertion that Israel used starvation as a war method was based on reports of famine in Gaza, later revealed to be false or exaggerated by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report in late June.

Khan’s announcement faced criticism in Israel for equating Israeli leaders with Hamas leaders, ignoring Israel’s robust judiciary, and targeting a nation over which the ICC allegedly has no jurisdiction. The US and Britain also criticized the decision on similar grounds.

The ICC has not yet acted on Khan’s request to issue the arrest warrants.