The International Criminal Court prosecutor requested arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas officials on May 20, 2024, over alleged war crimes in Gaza. The move triggered immediate US condemnation and a Senate sanctions bill, exposing a rift between Washington and its European allies. "Do not destroy the ICC for pursuing accountability," warned Adam Keith, a former State Department attorney, in Just Security.
The warrant applications target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for crimes including starvation of civilians and intentional attacks on civilian populations. Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the charges after a seven-month investigation, citing evidence that Israel used starvation as a method of warfare. Hamas leaders face accusations of extermination, murder, and hostage-taking during the October 7 attacks.
Just Security published a symposium on the ICC's actions on June 18, 2024, featuring legal experts who dissected the charges. David Luban, a Georgetown law professor, noted what the prosecutor charged—and didn't charge—in the Gaza warrants. The omission of genocide allegations surprised many observers.
Luban wrote that the charges focused on "concrete acts" rather than broader claims of genocidal intent. The US response was swift. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration would work with Congress on a "strong response," but stopped short of endorsing sanctions.
Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman reported that Blinken's view on sanctions was more nuanced than initial headlines suggested. A Senate hearing on September 24, 2024, examined a bill to sanction ICC officials, which Rebecca Hamilton and Ryan Goodman called "perilous."
European allies broke with Washington. The Dutch government halted military deliveries to Israel in February 2024 after a court found a "clear risk" of international humanitarian law violations. Germany faced questions at the International Court of Justice over its arms exports to Israel.
Adil Ahmad Haque, a Rutgers law professor, analyzed the fall and rise of German arms exports in a June 2025 piece for Just Security. The legal debate extends beyond the ICC. South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in December 2023.
The ICJ issued provisional measures in January 2024, ordering Israel to prevent acts of genocide and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. A UN commission found in September 2025 that Israel was committing genocide, a finding Rebecca Hamilton analyzed for Just Security. Starvation emerged as a central legal issue.
Tom Dannenbaum, a Fletcher School professor, argued in October 2023 that the siege of Gaza constituted a starvation war crime. By July 2025, Dannenbaum and Alex de Waal declared that "time has run out" for mass starvation in Gaza. They wrote that the global imperative to act was urgent.
The article was translated into Hebrew and Arabic. Israeli scholars challenged their government's actions. Eliav Lieblich and Tamar Megiddo called the plan to "concentrate" Palestinians in south Gaza "manifestly illegal" in July 2025.
Eyal Benvenisti and Chaim Gans, prominent Israeli international lawyers, said the operation was a "manifest war crime." Their joint statement marked a rare public rebuke from within Israel's legal establishment. The human toll is. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, a former UN special rapporteur, documented "obstetric violence" in Gaza—women giving birth without anesthesia or medical care.
She wrote that cumulative civilian harm had a gendered dimension often overlooked in legal analyses. Physicians pushed for accountability for alleged abuse of Gazan prisoners detained by Israel. US policy faces legal challenges.
Palestinian families sued the State Department in January 2025 for failing to enforce the Leahy Law, which prohibits military assistance to foreign security forces that commit gross human rights violations. Sarah Leah Whitson, of Democracy for the Arab World Now, wrote that the lawsuit aimed to force US compliance with its own laws. The Biden administration's final report on Israeli use of US weapons, submitted to Congress in May 2024, found it "reasonable to assess" that Israel used American arms inconsistently with international law.
John Ramming Chappell, a legal advisor at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, analyzed the report's key takeaways for Just Security. Trump's return to office in 2025 brought new uncertainty. He issued an executive order granting privileges and immunities to a "Board of Peace," a new peace-building initiative.
Michael Mattler, a former State Department lawyer, raised questions about the board's legal basis. Trump's Gaza plan, which proposed US control of the territory, was called "absurd and an affront to international law" by Lieblich. Key Takeaways: - The ICC's arrest warrant requests for Netanyahu and Gallant mark the first time a Western-allied leader faces such charges from the court. - US sanctions threats against the ICC have drawn bipartisan support but face opposition from European allies and human rights groups. - Legal scholars increasingly frame starvation in Gaza as a war crime, with some arguing it meets the threshold for genocide. - Israeli legal experts have publicly condemned their government's actions, breaking with traditional institutional silence.
Why It Matters: The ICC warrants test the post-World War II international legal order. If the US sanctions the court, it could cripple the institution and signal that powerful states are above the law. For families in Gaza, the legal proceedings offer a glimmer of accountability, but the immediate reality is continued suffering.
The divide between Washington and its allies over the ICC could reshape diplomatic relations for years. The coming months will see the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber decide whether to issue the warrants. The Senate sanctions bill awaits a floor vote.
The ICJ genocide case proceeds, with a final ruling expected in 2026. And on the ground, the humanitarian crisis deepens, with famine conditions spreading despite international pressure. The legal battles are far from over.
Key Takeaways
— The ICC's arrest warrant requests for Netanyahu and Gallant mark the first time a Western-allied leader faces such charges from the court.
— US sanctions threats against the ICC have drawn bipartisan support but face opposition from European allies and human rights groups.
— Legal scholars increasingly frame starvation in Gaza as a war crime, with some arguing it meets the threshold for genocide.
— Israeli legal experts have publicly condemned their government's actions, breaking with traditional institutional silence.
Source: Just Security
