Global courts challenge Israel as UN condemns war conduct in Gaza

Key information:

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, and persecution.
• The United States responded with unprecedented sanctions against four ICC judges, a move the UN's top human rights official condemned as an attack on judicial independence.
• UN agencies and international experts warn of mounting evidence of grave crimes, including the use of hunger as a weapon, indiscriminate bombing, and the denial of humanitarian access.
• Legal observers say the credibility of international law is now being tested, as Western governments face pressure to end perceived double standards in conflict accountability.
• Despite political pushback, the ICC and UN insist the laws of war must apply equally to all parties, including democratic states.

The war in Gaza has evolved into a legal reckoning on the global stage, with the UN and the International Criminal Court now at the forefront of a widening push to prosecute Israeli leaders for violations of international law.

At the heart of the confrontation is the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant. The court alleges they are criminally responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the deliberate starvation of civilians — charges based on extensive documentation by humanitarian and legal experts.

The response from the United States was swift and severe. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against four ICC judges involved in the decision, accusing the court of illegitimate targeting of Israel and the US. The move drew sharp rebuke from the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, who called the sanctions an "assault on the rule of law."

"These attacks against judges contradict the core values of legal equality and impartial justice," Türk stated, urging Washington to withdraw the measures immediately.

The UN’s concerns are bolstered by staggering figures from its agencies: over 54,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, including more than 14,500 children, and a civilian population pushed to the brink of famine due to Israeli-imposed blockades. Evidence compiled by humanitarian groups and the UN suggests that the blockade was deliberately enforced as leverage — a tactic deemed a war crime under international law.

International scrutiny is intensifying not only over the conduct of Israel’s war in Gaza but also over the geopolitical backlash against legal mechanisms intended to investigate such conduct. Critics warn that attempts by powerful nations to undermine the ICC threaten to erode decades of progress in holding violators accountable, regardless of political alliance.

Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s International Editor, underscores the stakes: "The rules on how wars are conducted are the rules for everybody regardless of why they are in the war." The Geneva Conventions, long a pillar of wartime humanitarian protections, are now being hollowed out, says the ICRC’s President Mirjana Spoljaric. "We are seeing things happening that will make the world an unhappier place far beyond the region."

Despite the denials from Israeli officials, legal experts maintain there is a case to answer. "You’re never entitled to break the law," said Professor Janina Dill of Oxford University. Others, like Lord Sumption, argue that the language and policies from Israeli leadership make genocide "the most plausible explanation" for what is occurring.

The ICC’s proceedings will take time, but the political and moral fallout is already spreading. Some European allies — including the UK, France, and Canada — have issued joint statements condemning Israel’s recent military actions as disproportionate. Recognition of a Palestinian state is increasingly under consideration.

Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, who served on an ICC panel reviewing the evidence, stressed that historical trauma does not justify present violations:

"The Holocaust teaches us not to be complicit when we see crimes being committed."

As the UN calls for an immediate ceasefire and independent investigations, and the ICC prepares for a prolonged legal process, the question remains whether the international community will enforce the very laws it helped write.

Sources: BBC