War Crimes Court Concludes Proceedings Against Deceased Hamas Leader Haniyeh, Reports Reuters

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Friday that it has terminated proceedings against the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh following his death in July.

The ICC is currently considering a request for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders submitted earlier this year.

In May, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for several Hamas leaders, citing reasonable grounds to suspect that Yahya Sinwar, military chief Mohammed Al-Masri, and Haniyeh bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The prosecutor’s statement also included requests for warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. There have been no further updates regarding these requests.

Haniyeh was killed in Iran on July 31. Israel has also claimed responsibility for the killing of Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in a separate airstrike, but Hamas has not confirmed or denied this event.

Judges stated that the decision to terminate proceedings was made following the prosecution’s withdrawal of the warrant request for Haniyeh earlier this month.