ICC rejects Israeli bid to block Gaza war crimes investigation
By Al Jazeera, December 16, 2025The 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 claimed crimes in Israel’s war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The decision clears the way for the continuation of the court’s Palestine investigation, which led to the issuance of arrest warrants in November last year for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over claimed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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 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.
While the judges noted that their decision “does not impact, in any way, on the ability of States… to raise issues of admissibility for cases,” the judgment removes a key procedural obstacle to the Gaza investigation continuing.
Israel has killed nearly 70,700 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,100 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023, which have continued despite the truce.
Although a ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025, living conditions in Gaza have not improved, as Israel continues to impose strict restrictions on the entry of aid trucks, violating the humanitarian protocol of the agreement.