Following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Friday that it has officially terminated the legal proceedings against him.
ICC Investigation and Arrest Warrants
The ICC has been considering a request made earlier this year for arrest warrants against both Israeli and Hamas leaders. In May, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for several Hamas leaders, stating there were reasonable grounds to believe that Yahya Sinwar, military chief Mohammed Al-Masri, and Haniyeh bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In the same statement, Khan revealed that he was also pursuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. However, no further developments on these requests have been reported.
Assassination of Haniyeh and Al-Masri
Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran on July 31. In addition, Israel claimed responsibility for the killing of Mohammed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in a separate airstrike, although Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.
ICC’s Decision to Close the Case
The ICC’s decision to terminate the proceedings against Haniyeh came after the prosecution withdrew its request for an arrest warrant earlier this month, following his death. There has been no official update on the cases against the other individuals named in the ICC’s investigation.
