Israel: Victims' families urge ICC to probe Hamas attacks

Despite Israel’s opposition to the court, Israeli families of those killed and kidnapped on October 7th made an appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday, requesting that the court order an investigation into the killings and abductions.

Yael Vias Gvirsman, an international lawyer based in Tel Aviv, filed a so-called “article 15 communication” with the ICC prosecutor on behalf of the families of over 34 victims of the Hamas attacks, including hostages, missing persons, and people killed.

Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is headquartered in The Hague.

The submission calls on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to concentrate his inquiry on Hamas’s activities in southern Israel on October 7, particularly the forced disappearances that the court considers to be a crime against humanity.

Any claimed crimes falling under its purview that are committed by Palestinians on Israeli territory or on Palestinian territory are already the subject of an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court.

After the Palestinian authorities enrolled in the court in 2015 and were granted UN observer state status, ICC judges decided in 2021 that the court has jurisdiction.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister at the time, referred to the ruling as a “perversion of justice”.

Being a court of last resort, the ICC can only intervene if one of its 124 member states refuses or is unable to bring charges against those accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.

(With agency inputs)