“We reject the equivalence established by the prosecutor between Israel and Hamas.” In a statement released Monday, May 20, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described “shameful” the decision of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) made public at midday. Referring to potential war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip, the latter had submitted a midday request for the issuance of an arrest warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister, his Minister of Defense, as well as three Hamas leaders. Follow our live stream.
Israeli Foreign Minister denounces “scandalous decision”. This is’“a historic dishonor” for the court based in The Hague, estimated Israel Katz. Request warrants against “the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense of the State of Israel alongside the abominable Nazi monsters of Hamas” is a “frontal attack” And “a historical shame which will remain forever engraved in memories”, denounces the minister in a press release.
Three Hamas leaders also affected by the ICC request. This is’Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, better known as Mohammed Deif, commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The ICC prosecutor believes that they “bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine [dans la bande de Gaza] from October 7, 2023″date of the Hamas attack on Israel.
Israel argues before Washington its “duty” to extend the offensive to Rafah. During a meeting in Tel Aviv with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he had “insisted to him on Israel’s duty to extend the ground operation in Rafah, to dismantle Hamas and bring back the hostages”according to a message he posted on X.
Six dead in Israeli raids in Syria. At least six fighters from pro-Iranian groups were killed Monday in strikes attributed to Israel on their positions in central Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). According to this UK-based NGO, “an Israeli strike targeted a Hezbollah position” Lebanese in the Qoussair region, close to the border with Lebanon.