By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned reported plans by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Israeli government officials on charges related to the conduct of its war against Hamas.
Netanyahu said Tuesday it would be “a scandal on a historic scale” if the Netherlands-based ICC charged Israeli leaders with war crimes.
“The possibility that they will issue arrest warrants for war crimes against IDF (Israel Defence Force) commanders and state leaders, this possibility is a scandal on a historic scale,” Netanyahu stressed.
“I want to make one thing clear: no decision, neither in The Hague nor anywhere else, will harm our determination to achieve all the goals of the war – the release of all our hostages, a complete victory over Hamas, and a promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”
He spoke after several sources confirmed that ICC prosecutors interviewed staff from Gaza’s two biggest hospitals.
ICC investigators reportedly took testimonies from personnel in the main hospital in Gaza City in the north of the Gaza Strip, Al Shifa, and the main hospital in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave known as Nasser.
‘POSSIBLE CRIMES’
They were speaking to medics about “possible crimes” in the Gaza Strip, said sources familiar with the talks.
The two leading Gaza hospitals were both targeted by Israeli forces who accused Hamas of using them for military purposes.
Hamas and the medical staff have denied the accusations despite mounting evidence of tunnels in the area, where Hamas runs the main health institutions.
The United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said he was “horrified” by “the destruction” of the Nasser and Al Shifa medical facilities in Gaza that Israel claims have been used by Hamas for its military operations.
Palestinian officials have also demanded investigations after hundreds of bodies were exhumed in mass graves at Nasser.
Israel has vehemently denied it was responsible for those deaths.
ISRAELI DENIALS
The Israeli military said claims by Palestinian authorities that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had buried bodies were “baseless and unfounded.”
It said forces searching for Israeli hostages still held by Hamas had examined bodies previously buried by Palestinians near Nasser Hospital and had returned the bodies to where they were buried after they were examined.
“The examination was conducted in a careful manner and exclusively in places where intelligence indicated the possible presence of hostages. The examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased,” the IDF) said.
The Hamas-led Health Ministry claims more than 34,000 Palestinians have died since Israel launched its military operations in Gaza. Those figures have been impossible to verify independently.
Israel says its war was triggered by the “terrorist organization Hamas” killing some 1,200 people, including raped women and babies, on October 7 in Israel from where it also took 253 hostages.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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