Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan, terming the arrest warrant application currently under review as based on a “pack of lies.”
Speaking to US broadcaster CNN, Netanyahu called Khan a ‘rogue prosecutor’ and denied allegations that Israel is starving Palestinians in Gaza as a method of war. The ICC prosecutor has laid out charges against both Netanyahu and Hamas leaders, accusing them of war crimes.
Netanyahu called it a “moral outrage of historic proportions”, while his fellow accused Defence Minister Yoav Gallant labeled it “despicable.” France’s foreign minister also urged against drawing an “equivalence” between the ICC’s requests for Israeli and Hamas leaders.
The embattled Israeli PM said that Israel has allowed 20,000 trucks of aid into Gaza, though aid groups claim the blockaded enclave is at risk of famine. When asked about ‘resetting’ Gaza, Netanyahu said it was “never in the cards.”
The situation remains tense, with Israel’s military reporting strikes on Gaza and deadly clashes in the occupied West Bank. The conflict escalated after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which sparked an Israeli retaliation leading to a spiraling civilian death toll.
