Selman Aksünger
26 January 2024•Update: 26 January 2024
THE HAGUE
French lawyer Gilles Devers, renowned for his defense of Palestinian victims at the International Criminal Court (ICC), said there exists substantial evidence to justify the issuance of arrest warrants targeting Israeli authorities.
Devers, accompanied by his legal team, met in The Hague to confer with the ICC Prosecutor's Office and the Office of the Victim.
Speaking to Anadolu, Devers said the Prosecutor's Office possesses ample evidence to justify the issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli officials, citing reasonable suspicion supported by concrete proof.
Among the array of evidence submitted to the ICC are extensive documents detailing the Israeli army’s relentless attacks on civilians in Gaza, the deliberate targeting of its health care infrastructure and the displacement of nearly 2 million people.
Devers emphasized the comprehensive nature of their submission, comprising 1,800 pages, with particular reference to reports from UN agencies.
He highlighted the dire plight of civilians ensnared by the Israeli military in Gaza alongside the looming threat of famine.
Devers lamented the unprecedented scale of the casualties witnessed in the conflict, decrying the destruction of vital water and electricity systems and the erosion of human dignity.
He argued that Israel's tactics sought to render Gaza uninhabitable, with a deliberate onslaught on civilians, including children, the elderly and the infirm.
"There has never been so many casualties in any war before, the only war I've seen where children are attacked. It has become a place where the heaviest weapons are used in urban areas and attacks are carried out on children, newborns, the elderly, the sick and now even the dead. When you consider that cemeteries are being destroyed, the message is simple: ‘You will never have a life here. Go away!’"
In light of all this evidence, Devers drew attention to the need for the ICC to take necessary steps, saying: "We expect a very strong reaction from the prosecutors."
The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has climbed to 25,900, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said Thursday.
The ministry in a statement said 64,110 others have also been injured.
About 85% of Gazans have since been displaced due to the onslaught, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will announce its highly anticipated verdict on South Africa’s request for an interim ruling in its genocide case against Israel on Friday.
