The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Karim Khan, expressed deep concern yesterday about the images coming from Gaza following four months of Israeli war on the region.
In an interview with the French Press Agency, Khan emphasized the importance of everyone feeling alarmed by the images from Gaza and being deeply concerned about upholding the rule of law.
He stated that the ICC has an “active investigation” in response to the ongoing investigations conducted by his office regarding possible war crimes committed during the Israeli war on Gaza.
Khan mentioned that the court will take action when the evidence of committing war crimes reaches the appropriate level, a decision to be made by the ICC judges.
“We are trying to gather evidence,” Khan added, emphasizing that they will act when the evidence reaches the necessary level, a determination made by the ICC judges.
Khan mentioned that he has made several statements and taken many steps regarding the Israeli war on Gaza, including being the first prosecutor to visit Israel, entering Ramallah, and going to the Rafah crossing.
The ICC, established in 2002, is the world’s only independent court created to investigate the most serious crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
In 2021, the ICC opened an investigation into Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other armed Palestinian factions on the suspicion of potential war crimes.
Previously, Khan indicated that this investigation had expanded to include escalation in hostilities and violence since the attacks that took place in October 2023.
However, ICC teams have not been able to enter Gaza or conduct investigations in non-member Israel.
In late January, the International Court of Justice called on Israel to prevent any act that could amount to “genocide” in Gaza and also demanded allowing humanitarian aid access to the region.
The Palestinian resistance launched “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” on October 7, targeting cities and towns in the Gaza Strip in response to Israeli incursions in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Since then, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza with U.S. support, resulting in 27,708 martyrs and 67,147 injuries as of Wednesday, most of whom are children and women, according to Palestinian authorities, causing massive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the United Nations.
