ICC rejects Israeli bid to halt Gaza war probe

Rules arrest warrants for Israeli PM remains in place

THE HAGUE:

Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday rejected one in a series of legal challenges brought by Israel against the court's probe into its conduct of the Gaza war.

On appeal, judges refused to overturn a lower court decision that the prosecution's investigation into alleged crimes under its jurisdiction could include events following the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

The ruling means the investigation continues and the arrest warrants issued last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant remain in place.

Israel's Foreign Ministry called the ruling an example of the ICC's disregard for the sovereign rights of countries who are not members of the court, in a post on social media platform X.

Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza, where it has waged a military campaign it says is aimed at eliminating Hamas following the October 7 attacks.

The ICC had initially also issued a warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, but withdrew that later following credible reports of his death.

A ceasefire agreement in the conflict took effect on October 10, but the war destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure, and living conditions are dire. According to Gaza health officials, whose data is frequently cited with confidence by the United Nations, some 67,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza.

This ruling focuses on only one of several Israeli legal challenges against the ICC investigations and the arrest warrants for its officials. There is no timeline for the court to rule on the various other challenges to its jurisdiction in this case.

Meanwhiel, The Israeli army is to demolish 25 residential buildings in the north West Bank's Nur Shams refugee camp later this week, local authorities told AFP on Monday.

Abdallah Kamil, governor of the Tulkarem governorate where Nur Shams is located, told AFP he was informed of the planned demolition by the Israeli defence ministry body

COGAT, which is in charge of coordinating civilian affairs in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.

Faisal Salama, head of the popular committee for Tulkarem camp, which is near Nur Shams, said the demolition order would affect 25 buildings holding up to 100 family homes.

"We were informed by the military and civil coordination that the occupation will carry out the demolition of 25 buildings on December 18, Thursday," he told AFP.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was "looking into it".

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

In early 2025, Israel's military launched a wide-ranging and still ongoing operation it says is aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from refugee camps in the northern West Bank -- including the Nur Shams, Tulkarem and Jenin camps.

The operation displaced all the residents and more than 30,000 have yet to return home.

During the operation, Israel has destroyed hundreds of houses in the dense network of alleys that make up the camps to create easy access for its troops stationed inside.