The International Criminal Court (ICC) has firmly rejected Israel’s appeal to revoke arrest warrants issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The warrants, issued in November 2024, accuse the Israeli leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Gaza since October 2023. This marks the first time in the ICC’s 22-year history that arrest warrants have been issued against senior officials from a Western-allied nation. Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, had sought to cancel the warrants in May while a separate challenge over the court’s jurisdiction was still under review. However, the ICC dismissed the request on July 16, stating there was ‘no legal basis’ to withdraw the warrants while the jurisdiction issue remained unresolved. Israel attempted to appeal this decision a week later, but on Friday, ICC judges ruled that ‘the issue, as framed by Israel, is not subject to appeal.’ The court’s jurisdiction stems from Palestine’s 2015 membership in the ICC, allowing it to investigate crimes committed in occupied territories, including Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The warrants have sparked intense reactions globally. Palestinians hailed the decision as ‘historic,’ while Israeli officials condemned it as ‘antisemitic.’ The ICC has also faced criticism, threats, and punitive measures from Israel’s ally, the United States, which sanctioned several ICC judges and prosecutors, labeling the court ‘a national security threat.’ The ICC responded by calling the sanctions an attack on ‘the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world.’ Despite the warrants, the ICC lacks enforcement powers, and trials cannot proceed in absentia. The conflict in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, following a Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,180 Israelis, has resulted in over 68,000 Palestinian deaths, with 80% believed to be civilians. The war has also caused widespread famine and destroyed or damaged more than 83% of Gaza’s structures. Numerous international bodies and UN experts have classified Israel’s actions as acts of genocide. Recently, a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal brokered in Egypt led U.S. President Donald Trump to declare the war over.