The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, known for supporting Hamas and Hezbollah in their battles against Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, has demanded death sentences for Israeli leaders.
On Monday, he criticized the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials.
The ICC announced arrest warrants last Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri. Khamenei dismissed the warrants as insufficient, saying, “They issued an arrest warrant, that’s not enough… Death sentence must be issued for these criminal leaders.”
The ICC judges believe there are strong reasons to hold Netanyahu and Gallant responsible for severe crimes, including murder, persecution, and using starvation as a weapon of war during attacks on Gaza.
These acts are considered part of a systematic attack on Gaza’s civilian population. The ICC decision caused outrage in Israel, which dismissed it as absurd and baseless. Meanwhile, residents of Gaza expressed hope that justice could finally prevail for war crimes.
Israel rejects the ICC’s jurisdiction and denies allegations of war crimes in Gaza. The warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri includes accusations of mass killings, rape, and hostage-taking during the October 7, 2023, attacks, which escalated the conflict. Israel claims it killed Al-Masri in a July airstrike, though Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death.
