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International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders
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<p>On 21 November 2024, following an <a href="/facts/International_Criminal_Court_investigation_in_Palestine/rVtz1ceN">investigation</a> of <a href="/facts/War_crime/36qQAugC">war crimes</a> and <a href="/facts/Crimes_against_humanity/N4nRKINC">crimes against humanity</a>, the <a href="/facts/International_Criminal_Court/z0VwbKkz">International Criminal Court</a> (ICC) issued <a href="/facts/Arrest_warrant/RrEVFbVo">arrest warrants</a> for two senior <a href="/facts/Israel/dEe3IcaY">Israeli</a> officials, <a href="/facts/Benjamin_Netanyahu/581DW7MB">Benjamin Netanyahu</a>, the <a href="/facts/Prime_Minister_of_Israel/NcrzDyr9">Prime Minister of Israel</a>, and <a href="/facts/Yoav_Gallant/qx0JQhsQ">Yoav Gallant</a>, the former <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Defense_(Israel)/ngCFFGLR">Minister of Defense of Israel</a>, alleging responsibility for the war crime of <a href="/facts/Starvation_(crime)/NXefAGa4">starvation as a method of warfare</a> and the crimes against humanity of <a href="/facts/Murder/GV3zvVYY">murder</a>, <a href="/facts/Persecution/lTM5uvsM">persecution</a>, and other inhumane acts during the <a href="/facts/Gaza_war/dmUoIpBw">Gaza war</a>. The warrant against Netanyahu is the first against the leader of a Western-backed democratic country for war crimes. </p><p>All <a href="/facts/States_parties_to_the_Rome_Statute/k7wxhf37">125 ICC member states</a>, including France and the United Kingdom, are required to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter the state's territory. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for <a href="/facts/Hamas/VjIkApsc">Hamas</a> military commander <a href="/facts/Mohammed_Deif/LfMDk07n">Mohammed Deif</a>, who was killed in an <a href="/facts/13_July_2024_al-Mawasi_attack/C5IqBNdq">Israeli airstrike on 13 July 2024</a> but whose death remained unconfirmed at the time. By January 2025 Hamas confirmed Deif's death, and a few weeks later the ICC cancelled the arrest warrant against him. Warrants may still be issued against additional Israeli senior IDF officers involved in the Gaza war. </p>