THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor told journalists on Sunday that blocking food and water supplies to Gaza could constitute a war crime, in a surprise visit to the Gaza Strip border.
Karim Khan posted a video statement to X, formerly Twitter, from the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening, saying that his office had an “active investigation” ongoing into events since Hamas militants stormed into Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
Israel immediately launched airstrikes on Gaza, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing thousands of Palestinian civilians in the days that have followed. The war has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides.
Khan, who took over the top post two years ago, told reporters at a news conference in Cairo following his visit to the border that he was very concerned about the situation in Gaza.
Israeli authorities must make "discernable efforts without further delay to make sure civilians receive basic foods, medicine,” the British barrister said.
He also said hostage taking was a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Hamas kidnapped some 200 Israelis during the attack.
“I call for the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel and for their safe return to their families,” Khan said.
Judges at the world’s only permanent court for atrocity crimes ruled in 2021 that they have jurisdiction in the Palestinian territories, including areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War.
In 2015, Palestine signed onto the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court in 2002, and asked the prosecutor to open an investigation into Israeli military action during the 2014 Gaza War and into settlement construction in both the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem.
Following the decision, Khan’s predecessor Fatou Bensouda formally opened an investigation. “There is a reasonable basis to believe that, in the context of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, members of the Israeli authorities have committed war crimes,” her office said in a statement at the time.
Israel, which is not a member of The Hague-based court, deeply opposes the investigation.
Khan has come under fire for failing to speak out about the Hamas attacks in southern Israel and Israel’s military response. His office made a formal statement just days following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, urging restraint and adherence to international law.
The court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of his top aids less than a month after the invasion began.
However, there has been no official statement from the court regarding the conflict in Gaza.
In a visit to the court last week, a top Palestinian diplomat urged the court to act quickly.
“This time the war that Israel is waging is different. This time it is a war of revenge,” Riyad al-Maliki told reporters following the meeting.
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