ICC upholds Gaza war crimes probe, rejects Israel’s bid to halt investigation

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) appeals chamber has upheld the ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza, rejecting Israel’s request to halt or restart the probe.

In a ruling delivered on Monday, the five-judge bench, led by presiding Judge Tomoko Akane, affirmed an earlier decision by the ICC’s pre-trial chamber, finding that the post-October 2023 hostilities do not constitute a “new situation” requiring fresh notification to Israel.

The judges ruled that the recent conflict involves the same territories, parties and types of armed engagement already covered under the long-running Palestine investigation.

Israel had argued that the intensity and scale of the clashes after October 7, 2023 triggered new legal obligations under Article 18 of the Rome Statute, which governs how states are notified when an investigation is opened.

It also maintained that referrals submitted after October 7 created a distinct legal situation, and that the pre-trial chamber failed to properly address or justify rejecting that argument.

Notification

In its appeal, Israel contended that the prosecutor should have formally notified it of a new investigation following referrals from seven states. Article 18(1) requires such notification to outline the scope of the inquiry and give the state an opportunity to show that it is already investigating the same matter.

Although the prosecutor issued a notification in 2021, Israel did not respond at the time, instead challenging the court’s jurisdiction over the situation. Its stance shifted after arrest warrants were sought against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, the ICC judges dismissed Israel’s arguments, concluding that the existing parameters of the case remain sufficient and that the original investigation, launched in 2021, covers alleged war crimes dating back to June 2014 with no specified end date.

“It has not been established that the Pre-Trial Chamber erred in finding that the Article 18(1) Notification includes ‘the starting point of the relevant timeframe’ and that the investigation is not limited to the incidents described in that notification,” ICC documents read.

The judges added that Israel had failed to clearly demonstrate how the referrals made in 2023 and 2024 amounted to a fundamentally new situation, noting that its submissions instead focused on what it described as changes to the defining parameters of the case.

Had the appeals chamber ruled in Israel’s favour, the arrest warrants issued against senior officials would not have applied, and prosecutors would have been required to pause the investigation and formally notify Israel again before proceeding.

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• ICC upholds Gaza war crimes probe
• rejects Israel’s bid to halt investigation