Middle East war
Criminal Court prosecutor warns Hamas and Israel
The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, sends a warning. photo
© Yui Mok/PA Wire/dpa
In the Gaza war, the situation is getting worse, especially for the civilian population. Now the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court is sending a warning.
The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has been involved in the Gaza war Israel and the Islamist Hamas warned against violations of international law.
“I would like to clearly emphasize to Israel that it must make visible efforts without further delay to ensure that the civilian population receives basic foodstuffs, medicine, anesthetics,” Chief Prosecutor Khan told journalists in Cairo, referring to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. And to the Hamas ruling party in Gaza and everyone “who is in control there”: The aid must reach the civilian population “and not be misused or diverted from them,” the chief prosecutor warned.
Khan indicated that the Criminal Court is already investigating possible crimes on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. “Obstructing the delivery of aid” under the Geneva Conventions could constitute a crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, Khan warned. He visited the Rafah border crossing in Egypt at the weekend.
Additional help urgently needed
This is considered the only way to bring urgently needed help to the coastal strip sealed off by Israel. Dozens of trucks carrying relief supplies have now reached the sealed-off Gaza Strip from there. But according to aid organizations, this is far from enough to provide for the more than 2.2 million people. Their situation is becoming more and more terrible every day.
“The civilian population must be provided with basic food, water and urgently needed medical assistance,” demanded Khan. With regard to the hostages kidnapped by Hamas into the Gaza Strip, the chief prosecutor said that taking hostages represented “a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions.” Terrorists from Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, carried out a massacre in Israel on October 7th. Since then, Israel has suffered more than 1,400 deaths. More than 230 people were kidnapped. The number of casualties in the Gaza Strip continued to rise after Israel’s violent retaliation. According to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.