ICC war crimes prosecutors interviewed Gaza hospital staff: Report
Prosecutors from the International Criminal Court (ICC) have interviewed staff from Gaza’s two biggest hospitals, two sources have told the Reuters news agency.
The prosecutors from the war crimes court in The Hague have reportedly spoken to staff from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Reuters said. This is the first confirmation the ICC is speaking to medical staff about possible crimes in the Gaza Strip, Reuters said, though it noted the sources asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.
The ICC’s office of the prosecutor said it could not comment due to the need to ensure the safety of victims and witnesses.
Israel has repeatedly besieged hospitals in the Gaza Strip, with Palestinian officials calling for investigations in recent days after hundreds of bodies were exhumed from mass graves at both Nasser and al-Shifa Hospitals following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from both locations.
Palestinian workers retrieved bodies from a mass grave at Nasser Hospital
‘Walls closing in’ on those committing grave violations in Gaza war
Salman Shaikh, a former Middle East peace envoy with the UN, says Israel’s conduct in Gaza is increasingly under the spotlight worldwide and international courts are expected to hold Israeli officials accountable.
“The walls are closing in. International law has to be administered. Otherwise, we will see Western countries effectively cannibalising international law and the rules-based international order, which they themselves set up after the horrors of the second world war,” Shaikh told Al Jazeera.
“We have ample evidence and those who have committed grave violations of international humanitarian law – whether they are Hamas or other Palestinian groups but also the Israeli army. This cannot continue.”
Western nations should be extremely concerned about their support for Israel during its six-month attack on Gaza, he noted. “European capitals and Washington need to think really hard about their actions, including the supply of offensive weaponry to the Israeli army.”
ICC arrest warrants? Netanyahu phones Biden: Report
US news outlet Axios reports PM Netanyahu phoned President Biden to ask for help in preventing the International Criminal Court (ICC) from issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials over the grisly war on Gaza.
Two unnamed Israeli officials were quoted as saying the phone call took place on Sunday amid increasing alarm that senior figures may face international justice for the attack that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
The Axios story comes after Reuters reported ICC prosecutors interviewed staff from Gaza’s two biggest hospitals about possible crimes committed in Gaza. More than 300 bodies were uncovered from mass graves at Nasser Hospital after Israeli forces withdrew on April 7.
US under pressure to protect Israeli officials from ICC arrest?
Reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may soon issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials over the war on Gaza should be read with scepticism, an analyst says.
“We should take this ICC arrest warrant story to some extent with a grain of salt. We may get different news in the coming days or weeks. But it’s not really clear where this is coming from beyond Israeli sources, or possibly Israeli officials leaking to the press to try to put pressure on outside forces, namely the United States,” said Antony Loewenstein, an independent journalist and author.
“The US has hated the ICC for years because they don’t want their own soldiers, or generals, or politicians to be put on trial for what happened, for example, in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last 20 years.”
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