ICC warrant sought against Israel PM

Jerusalem: The Inter national Criminal Court's chief prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for three top Hamas leaders as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said in a statement on Monday.

Prosecutor Karim Khan announced he was seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders including Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar as well as Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The arrest warrants are sought over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Israel and Gaza. A senior Hamas official condemned the ICC's decision in statements to the Reuters news agency, saying it "equates the victim with the executioner."

Sami Abu Zuhri added that it encourages Israel to continue its "war of extermination" in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Khan said his office has reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Palestinian territories (the Gaza Strip) since October 8 last year. (Agencies)