Israel-Hamas War and Gaza News: Latest Updates - The New York Times

Middle East Crisis International Criminal Court Prosecutor Requests Warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas Leaders

Updated 

May 20, 2024, 8:38 a.m. ET39 minutes ago

"The International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and for the leaders of Hamas, including Yahya Sinwar.

Here’s what we know:

While the request must be approved by the court’s judges, the announcement is a blow to Israel’s government and will likely fuel international criticism of its war strategy in Gaza.

• The I.C.C. prosecutor requests warrants for Hamas leaders and Netanyahu.
• Leaders of past protests in Israel re-emerge as Parliament reconvenes.
• A top Biden aide meets with Israeli military officials, and other news.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, said Monday that he had requested arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity in relation to the Oct. 7 attack and the war in Gaza.

In a statement, Mr. Khan said he was applying for arrest warrants for Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. He also said he was requesting warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and for Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

Israel’s Parliament was to be the focus of resurgent antigovernment protests on Monday as it prepared to open its summer session after a six-week recess.

Questions have been swirling about the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, and the protests, primarily calling for early elections, came days after deep divisions within the wartime emergency cabinet burst into the open.

Key Developments

• The U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met on Monday in Tel Aviv with Israeli officials including Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, who briefed him on the war against Hamas and on efforts to evacuate civilians from the city of Rafah, according to an Israeli government statement. Mr. Sullivan met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday as the United States and other countries push Israel to limit its incursion into Rafah. 

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s two main partners in running the war have challenged him to come up with a decisive strategy for what should happen in Gaza when the fighting ends. While the demands from Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, and Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief, laid bare the divisions in Mr. Netanyahu’s wartime government, analysts said they were unlikely to bring about major change.

• A renewed Israeli offensive in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, which came under intense attack earlier in the war, is newly displacing thousands of people.  “We’re so exhausted,” said one resident. “You see it in our faces. We want to cry at times, but we’re unable to.”

Israel-Hamas War and Gaza News: Latest Updates - The New York Times