The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international tribunal that prosecutes individuals for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Established under the Rome Statute in 1998, the ICC is tasked with holding individuals accountable for the most serious crimes affecting the international community. In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the Gaza operations. These warrants marked a historic moment, as they were the first ever issued against the leadership of a Western-allied state by the ICC.
The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant stem from the extensive documentation of Israeli military operations in Gaza, which have been characterized by international legal bodies, human rights organizations, and academic researchers as potentially constituting genocide. The ICC’s actions represent a significant legal challenge to the conduct of Western-allied states and highlight the court’s role in addressing atrocities that may otherwise go unaddressed by national jurisdictions.
The ICC’s involvement in the Gaza conflict has also drawn political responses from the United States, with the Trump administration imposing sanctions on the ICC prosecutor and the court itself. Despite these challenges, the ICC’s legal proceedings have contributed to a formal record that will outlast the current operations and shape the historical assessment of the events in Gaza.
Related: gaza.md, genocide.md, ICC Prosecutor, South Africa