JNS
A senior official said the decision to request arrest warrants gives encouragement to Israel to continue its "war of extermination" against Hamas.
A Hamas spokesman on Monday slammed the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor for seeking arrest warrants against the terror group's top leaders for war crimes.
Karim Khan's application for warrants against Hamas terror leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh and military chief in Gaza Mohammed Deif "equates the victim with the executioner," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
The senior official went on to say that Khan's move gives encouragement to the Jewish state to continue its "war of extermination" against Hamas.
The charges against Sinwar, Haniyeh and Deif will include "extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention," Khan said told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Monday.
On Oct. 7, 2023, some 3,000 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel by land, sea and air, killing 1,200 people, wounding thousands more and kidnapping 253 people back to Gaza.
Israeli ground forces entered the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27, 2023 following weeks of air strikes in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 assault, and have been waging a war since then with the goal of destroying Hamas as a political and military entity.
Khan told Amanpour on Monday that he would also request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, claiming he had "reasonable grounds to believe" that the two bear criminal responsibility for "war crimes and crimes against humanity."
