ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan said in May that he was filing applications for the arrest of Netanyahu, Gallant and other senior Israeli officials. He had also sought arrest warrants for Hamas figures who have played key roles in the ongoing war, including leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in Gaza in October.
On Thursday, the court issued a separate arrest warrant for Deif, an alleged architect of the Oct. 7 terror attack, whom Israel said it killed earlier this year.
Deif was accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including for his role in the Oct. 7 attack in which Israeli officials said some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, a major escalation in the decadeslong conflict.
The ICC noted that Khan had initially filed applications for arrest warrants for Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas who was assassinated by Israel in July. But it said the applications were withdrawn following confirmation of their deaths.
The court launched an investigation three years ago into possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Palestinian militants going back to the Israel-Hamas war in 2014.
Netanyahu has labeled Khan a “rogue prosecutor who’s out to demonize the one and only Jewish state.”
And Thursday’s development drew swift condemnation from Israeli officials, with President Isaac Herzog saying the arrest warrants marked a “dark day for justice” and “a dark day for humanity.”
“Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock,” he said.
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be national security adviser, condemned the ICC, which he said has “no credibility.”
“Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January,” he said in a post on X.
President Joe Biden has previously condemned the ICC’s efforts to issue the arrest warrants as “outrageous,” suggesting they imply a false “equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.
Some leading human rights advocates welcomed the decision.
“The court’s issuance of arrest warrants is an important step forward for justice for the Palestinian civilians of Gaza, who so far have known mainly injustice,” Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, told NBC News.
“All of the International Criminal Court’s 125 members are now obliged to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant should they dare to step foot no their territory,” he said Thursday, adding: “The world has suddenly become a lot smaller for Netanyahu and Gallant.”
Roth said governments providing military support to Israel, including the U.S. — the country’s biggest arms supplier — should also take heed.
“Any government that continues to provide weapons to Israel while these crimes continue, which they do, is on notice that they could be charged with aiding and abetting these crimes,” he said.
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