Democracy Dies in Darkness
At an event celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month on May 20, President Biden said what's happening in Gaza “is not genocide. We reject that.” (Video: The Washington Post)

France, Germany and others back ICC after arrest warrant request

2 min

European countries including France and Germany issued statements affirming their support for the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court after its prosecutor sought arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas officials. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that aids Palestinian refugees said it has suspended food distribution in Rafah for the first time during the war due to safety concerns and a lack of supplies. “We have no supplies,” UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma said. “So we have nothing to distribute.”

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The ICC prosecutor said he is seeking to charge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar and other top Hamas officials with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Netanyahu lashed out at the ICC prosecutor’s decision in an interview with “Good Morning America,” calling the request for arrest warrants “beyond outrageous” and stating that the prosecutor, British lawyer Karim Khan, was “out to demonize Israel” and had undertaken a “hit job” on the country.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he has a “very clear plan” for postwar Gaza. The first step, he said, involved eliminating Hamas. Afterward, he said he would seek the “sustained demilitarization” and reconstruction of Gaza. Netanyahu added that resettling the enclave was “never in the cards.”
President Biden criticized the prosecutor’s decision, saying there is “no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.” Biden reaffirmed his support for Israel in a separate case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, saying that what’s happening in Gaza “is not a genocide.” Israel also rejects South Africa’s allegation.
About 40 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced in the past two weeks, according to U.N. estimates — the vast majority, about 812,000, in an exodus from Rafah amid evacuation orders from Israel.
At least 35,647 people have been killed and 79,852 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 282 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.
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The ICC prosecutor said he is seeking to charge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar and other top Hamas officials with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Netanyahu lashed out at the ICC prosecutor’s decision in an interview with “Good Morning America,” calling the request for arrest warrants “beyond outrageous” and stating that the prosecutor, British lawyer Karim Khan, was “out to demonize Israel” and had undertaken a “hit job” on the country.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he has a “very clear plan” for postwar Gaza. The first step, he said, involved eliminating Hamas. Afterward, he said he would seek the “sustained demilitarization” and reconstruction of Gaza. Netanyahu added that resettling the enclave was “never in the cards.”
President Biden criticized the prosecutor’s decision, saying there is “no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.” Biden reaffirmed his support for Israel in a separate case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, saying that what’s happening in Gaza “is not a genocide.” Israel also rejects South Africa’s allegation.
About 40 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced in the past two weeks, according to U.N. estimates — the vast majority, about 812,000, in an exodus from Rafah amid evacuation orders from Israel.
At least 35,647 people have been killed and 79,852 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 282 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.
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Israel-Gaza war

The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for six months, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding region.

The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel that included the taking of civilian hostages at a music festival. (See photos and videos of how the deadly assault unfolded). Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948.

Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.

U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.

History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Read more on the history of the Gaza Strip.