Editorial: International Criminal Court decision sends strong message to world leaders

Its chief prosecutor Karim Khan said he believes Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister and three Hamas leaders are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Mr Khan said that “the effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known”.

Of the Hamas actions on October 7, he said he saw for himself “the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unconscionable crimes charged in the applications filed”.

The US and Israel have both utterly condemned the move. President Joe Biden said the decision was “outrageous”. He also said “whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence, none, between Israel and Hamas”.

It will be at least two months before three judges of the ICC can execute the warrants, but the move is nonetheless symbolically significant.

The allegations are also devastating. For while the ICC has previously issued warrants for Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, no leader of a Western-style democracy has ever been issued one.

A spokesperson for Human Rights Watch said the decision represented a “principled first step”, which “opens the door to those responsible for the atrocities committed in recent months to get a fair trial”.

The warrants were sought at the same time Tel Aviv announced it would expand its military offensive in Rafah, despite warnings of mass casualties.

The war has killed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. About 80pc of the population of 2.3m Palestinians has been displaced within the territory.

Pressure is also mounting on Tel Aviv from the White House to agree to a “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip that Mr Netanyahu has been long evading.

Behind the scenes, Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, has turned the screw on Mr Netanyahu to accept a political solution to the war in Gaza and a regional deal with Saudi Arabia. But the Israeli leader has so far scoffed at “calls for plotting peace” while fighting the war.

Escalation of the Rafah offensive could result in unconscionable loss of civilian life, and risk exploding the political powder keg the Middle East has become.

Frustrations are also growing within Mr Netanyahu’s own government over a lack of coherence and control. Benny Gantz, his erstwhile rival and current member of the war cabinet, has threatened to quit if the prime minister does not come forward with a “comprehensive” plan by next month prioritising the release of hostages. War breeds more war, and any political vacuum will only be filled by more violence.