ICC rejects Israel appeal, backs Gaza war crimes investigation

The International Criminal Court's appeals chamber has rejected Israel's challenge to the legality of the court's investigation into war crimes committed in Gaza after Oct. 2023.

In a judgment issued on Monday, judges confirmed an earlier ruling by the pre-trial chamber, finding that there had been no "new situation" requiring the prosecutor to restart the process or issue a fresh notification to Israel.

The appeals chamber ruled that the investigation since Oct. 2023 concerns "the same type of armed conflicts, concerning the same territories, with the same alleged parties to these conflicts" as those already under investigation in the long-running Palestine case.

Israel had argued that the scale of the conflict after Oct. 7 marked a fundamental change, triggering new legal obligations under Article 18 of the Rome Statute.

Judges rejected that claim, concluding that "no substantial change to the parameters of the investigation requiring new notification had occurred."

The court said the original investigation, opened in 2021, already covered war crimes committed "since June 13, 2014, with no end date."

The ruling strengthens the legal basis for arrest warrants issued in Nov. 2024 against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel rejects the ICC's jurisdiction.

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 Oct. 2023, which have continued despite the truce.

Although a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 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.