Israel is making attempts via diplomatic channels to try and block the International Criminal Court (ICC) from issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and other military officials over war crimes, according to media reports. Israeli officials fear that the Hague-based court might issue the warrants as early as this week.
Three years ago, the Court launched a probe three years ago into possible war crimes being committed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war by the Jewish nation and the Palestinian militants.
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An Israeli government source told The Times of Israel that the US is also “part of the last-ditch diplomatic effort” to prevent the ICC from moving forward with the arrest warrants.
Meanwhile, on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to discuss a ceasefire deal in Gaza, urged Hamas to accept Israel’s latest and “extraordinarily generous” proposal for a possible truce and to secure the release of hostages amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the besieged enclave.
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Here are the latest developments:
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The International Criminal Court told NBC News that it “has an ongoing independent investigation in relation to the Situation in the State of Palestine”. Regarding the arrest warrants, it said “we have no further comment to make at this stage”.
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An Israeli government source told The Times of Israel that the National Security Council is leading the campaign to stop the ICC from issuing the warrants, along with the involvement of the country’s Foreign Ministry.
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On Sunday night, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz sent messages to the country’s embassies abroad advising them to prepare for a severe antisemitic backlash if the Court takes action, the Guardian reported.
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While addressing a special meeting World Economic Forum in Riyadh on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel… And at this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide and they have to decide quickly. I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision.”
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A source told The Times of Israel that the country’s “proposal called for a deal to accept the release of 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be still held in exchange for freeing Palestinian security prisoners jailed in Israel, and a second phase of a truce consisting of a ‘period of sustained calm’ — Israel’s compromise response to a Hamas demand for permanent ceasefire”.
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A senior Hamas official told Reuters that the ceasefire talks in Cairo would take place between the militant group’s delegation and Qatari and Egyptian mediators. “Hamas has some questions and inquiries over the Israeli response to its proposal, which the movement received from mediators,” he said.
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Amid the new ceasefire talks, the death toll in Gaza due to Israeli strikes increased to 40 on Monday. Of the overall fatalities, 25 were killed in Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli assault has been anticipated for weeks.
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As Israel’s military is facing mounting pressure over its ongoing offensive in Gaza, a US State Department spokesperson said on Monday that Washington found five units of the Jewish nation’s forces responsible for gross violations of human rights. This is the first time the US has reached such a conclusion about Israeli forces, Reuters reported.
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Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, 34,488 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 77,643 injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities. In Israel, the death toll stood at 1,200.
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