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ICC rejects Israeli bid to block Gaza war crimes investigation
The decision comes amid mounting international pressure over the humanitarian toll of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
(AL-JAZEERA) The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected one of Israel’s legal challenges seeking to block an investigation into its actions in the genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza, dealing a blow to Israel’s efforts to derail the case.
In their decision issued on Monday, judges 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.
Members of the Palestinian Civil Defence search for the bodies of the Salem family in the rubble of their building, destroyed in 2023 in the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City, December 15, 2025 [AFP]
Israel does not recognise the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and has repeatedly denied committing war crimes in Gaza.
The ICC had also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri, but later withdrew it after credible reports of his death.
The appeal focused on 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 post-October 7 assault 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.
Judges rejected that argument, ruling 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 as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues to exact a devastating toll. Since a ceasefire took effect on October 11, 2025, at least 391 Palestinians have been killed and 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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Since Israel is not a member of the ICC why would they entertain an appeal from Israel with respect to its investigation into war crimes in Gaza?