Judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The move comes after the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20, that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the Oct 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli military response in Gaza.

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza. Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in airstrike but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.

In May this year, the ICC prosecutor’s office said it had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes.

Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 44,056 Palestinians and wounded 104,268 since October 7, 2023, the enclave’s health ministry has said.

Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, began firing on Israel after the October 7 attack.

The regular cross-border exchanges escalated in late September when Israel intensified its air strikes before sending ground troops into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah.

According to the statement, the court said it has “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant “each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

The court said it revealed the warrants “in the interest of the victims and their families”.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over a breakdown in trust during the Gaza war against Hamas, his office said.

Pakistan regrets UNSC’s ‘inability’ to reach consensus on Gaza ceasefire

Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch regretted the United Nations Security Council’s inability to reach a consensus on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Radio Pakistan reports.

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It comes after during last night’s vote, the United States was the only one out of the UNSC’s 15 members to use its veto powers to vote against the ceasefire resolution.

Baloch reiterated Pakistan’s call for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, unhindered access” to humanitarian assistance for Gaza and full support to the UNRWA and its mandated humanitarian activities.

On Friday, the Israeli military bombed at least five crowded homes in northern Gaza with many casualties buried beneath the rubble, Palestinian health officials said, as troops deepened an incursion along the territory’s northern edge.

Rescue operations were under way in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, medics said. Local media put the number of fatalities at 66, most of whom it said had not been recovered.