The International Criminal Court on Monday, December 15, rejected Israel’s petition to block an investigation into war crimes committed in Palestine.
The judges at the ICC refused to overturn a lower court decision allowing the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes in Israel’s war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The decision will allow the continuation of the court’s investigation into the matter. In November 2024, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC, and has been trying to block the investigation.
The ICC had also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri, but later withdrew it after his death.
The appeal emphasised whether the ICC prosecutor was required to issue a fresh notification to Israel before investigating events that took place after October 7, 2023. Israel argued that the October 7 attacks on Gaza constituted a new situation, triggered by additional referrals submitted to the court by seven other countries since November 2023, including South Africa, Chile and Mexico.
The judges rejected this argument, stating that the original notification issued in 2021, when the ICC formally opened its investigation into alleged crimes in occupied Palestine, already covered later events.
They said no new notification was required, meaning the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant remain valid. The ruling comes at a time when Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement reached with Hamas on October 10 2025.
Since the United States brokered ceasefire came into effect, Israel has violated the agreement 391 times. So far, 1,063 wounded, and 632 bodies recovered, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Since October 7, 2023, the ministry says, at least 70,663 Palestinians have been killed and 171,139 injured.
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