THE HAGUE: Israeli victims of the Hamas attack that triggered the Gaza war will still work with the International Criminal Court even after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the tribunal, a lawyer for victims and victims’ families said on Friday.
The sanctions are in retaliation for the court’s issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The ICC’s prosecutor is also investigating the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Prosecutors sought arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders for the crimes, but they were all killed in the past 16 months of war in Gaza, according to Israel and Hamas.
While sanctions will complicate dealings with the ICC, the Israeli families want to continue engaging with it as part of efforts to seek justice, said Yael Vias Gvirsman, a lawyer who represents over 350 victims and families of victims.
“Sanctions could complicate the communications channels between Israeli citizens and the court, but victims are ever more committed to have direct contact with the court and to pursue the justice they deserve,” Gvirsman said in an interview with Reuters.
The Gaza conflict has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians since October 2023, the Gaza health ministry says.
The US sanctions, which focus on punishing the court for investigating Israeli officials, can also affect the prosecution’s probe into crimes committed by Hamas, says Vias Gvirsman.
“It will be a dilemma for the court how to engage with Israeli citizens and assess if contact with the court endangers them,” she said.
Israeli victims will continue to work with ICC after US sanctions, says lawyer
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Israeli victims will continue to work with ICC after US sanctions, says lawyer
- Israeli families want to continue engaging with it as part of efforts to seek justice, said lawyer Yael Vias Gvirsman
- “Victims are ever more committed to have direct contact with the court and to pursue the justice they deserve“
Syria says 120 Daesh detainees escaped prison; Kurdish website said 1,500 escaped
- The Syrian ministry said Syrian army units and ministry special forces entered Shaddadi following the breakout
CAIRO: Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that about 120 Daesh detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison, after the Kurdish website Rudaw reported that a spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Farhad Shami, said around 1,500 Daesh members had escaped.
The Syrian ministry said Syrian army units and ministry special forces entered Shaddadi following the breakout. It said security forces had recaptured 81 of the escapees after search and sweep operations in the town and surrounding areas, with efforts continuing to arrest the remaining fugitives.
Earlier, the Syrian army said “a number of” Daesh militants had escaped a prison that had been under SDF control in the eastern city of Shaddadi, accusing the SDF of releasing them.
After days of fighting with government forces, the SDF agreed on Sunday to withdraw from both Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, two Arab-majority provinces they had controlled for years and the location of Syria’s main oil fields.
