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Israel strikes Gaza after ICC issues arrest warrants 

Published : Saturday, 23 November, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 294
JERUSALEM, Nov 22: Israel's military said on Friday it had killed two commanders involved in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, pressing its north Gaza offensive a day after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants over the war.

With Israel also fighting Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, live AFPTV footage showed several strikes early Friday on Beirut's southern suburbs, where the Iran-backed group holds sway.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant may bear "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and other crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Hague-based court's decision drew mixed reactions from world leaders, with some vowing to arrest the Israelis if they entered their country's territory.

Other leaders, including US President Joe Biden, have condemned the court's decision which Netanyahu dismissed as "absurd" and "driven by anti-Semitic hatred of Israel".

Israel has similarly pushed back against accusations of genocide in its war against Hamas, with a case brought before the International Court of Justice in December and, more recently, a report issued by a UN special committee last week.

On the ground in Gaza, the military said an air strike on the territory's north killed five Hamas militants including two company commanders "who participated in the October 7 massacre" last year.

Medics said dozens were killed or missing after an overnight Israeli raid on Beit Lahia and nearby Jabalia, which are among the targets of a sweeping Israeli assault on north Gaza.

The civil defence agency was not immediately able to provide an exact toll.

Biden, in a statement responding to the ICC's arrest warrants, called them "outrageous", vowing to "always stand with Israel against threats to its security".

China, which like Israel and the United States is not a member of the ICC, urged the court to "uphold an objective and just position".

Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that Beijing "supports any efforts... that are conducive to achieving fairness and justice".

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif, accusing him of responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity over the attack on Israel that sparked the war, as well as "sexual and gender-based violence" against hostages.

Israel said it killed Deif in July, but Hamas has not confirmed his death.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas both welcomed the warrants -- though without mentioning Deif.

Iran, which backs Hamas, Hezbollah and other armed groups in the region, praised the arrest warrants against the Israeli leaders.

"This means the end and political death of the Zionist regime," said Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami.

The ICC's move theoretically limits the movement of Netanyahu, as any of the court's 124 national members would be obliged to arrest him on their territory. But on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would invite Netanyahu to visit and defy the "cynical" and "political" ICC warrant.    —AFP



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