ICC probes into ‘alleged war crimes in Israel,’ situation in Gaza

At the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that the court will investigate war crimes that were allegedly committed in Israel on October 7, as well as those that have occurred in Gaza and the West Bank.

In a video recorded at the border and then posted on the ICC’s X account, Khan said he hoped to visit the Gaza Strip and Israel but has not been able to go any deeper into Gaza than the Rafah border.

“We are independently looking at the situation in Palestine. We are looking at the events in Israel and the allegations that Palestinian nationals have also committed crimes. We need cooperation, we need assistance,” he said.

Khan stressed that it is imperative “that there should not be any impediment to humanitarian relief supplies going to children, to women and men, civilians. They are innocent. They have rights under international humanitarian law.”

He added that the “suffering of children, women, and men, old and young, is profound and is ongoing.”

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC was at the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip this weekend. 

Watch his remarks on the current situation in Israel and the State of Palestine. 👇 pic.twitter.com/Z22DMLaAv3

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) October 29, 2023

For 23 days, Israel has launched its war on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 8,300 Palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women. Violence escalated between the Palestinians and Israelis on October 7, when Palestinian fighters from Hamas launched an unprecedented military operation, called Tufan Al-Aqsa (Al-Aqsa Flood), against Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied settlements near the Gaza Strip. The military operation is an attempt to end Israel’s violations against Palestinians, who have been deprived of their rights to their lands, and to put an end to the Israeli siege against Gazan residents and violations against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

In response, Israel has since launched hundreds of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 8,300 people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and injuring more than 21,000 others. Meanwhile, the escalation of violence resulted in the killing of 1,400 Israelis and 3,400 others injured.