In a move Israel has long feared, the international criminal court has announced it is seeking arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the defence minister, Yoav Gallantm alongside the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and other Hamas officials Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
The news is a political earthquake, with the men all accused of crimes against humanity. For the Israeli politicians, this includes accusations related to starvation and, for the Hamas leaders, rape and torture. The news of the applications for arrest warrants has been met with outrage from Hamas, the Israeli government and allies of both sides.
Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, said he wanted to make one point very clear: the law must be applied to all sides equally. Julian Borger, the Guardian’s world affairs editor, explains what the next steps will be, and looks at whether any arrests will actually be made. He tells Michael Safi why, despite this uncertainty, the court’s rulings are so bold and could prove to be a powerful assertion of the importance of international law
Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
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