ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Hamas, Israeli leaders including Netanyahu

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for leaders of Israeli and Hamas in connection with their roughly seven-month long war.

Included in the list of those for whom arrest warrants were issued includes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Associated Press. 

Prosecutor Karim Khan argues Netanyahu, his defense minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

The three Hamas leaders are Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, the latter of whom resides in Qatar.

"The effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known," said Khan about Israel's leaders, the wire service also reports.

The ICC was established in 1998 by an international agreement – the Rome Statute – to prosecute cases of genocide, war crimes and other serious international crimes.

The U.S. helped negotiate the agreement but does not recognize the jurisdiction – over concerns a prosecutor for the court would be given too much unchecked power to conduct politically-motivated prosecutions.