Iran's supreme leader calls for death sentences for Israeli officials

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has stated that Israeli leaders should face death sentences rather than arrest warrants.

Khamenei, who supports Hamas and Hezbollah in their conflict with Israel, was responding to the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense chief, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

"They issued an arrest warrant, that's not enough... Death sentence must be issued for these criminal leaders", Khamenei said, referring to the Israeli leaders.

In their ruling, ICC judges stated that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts such as murder, persecution, and using starvation as a weapon of war in what was described as a "widespread and systematic attack on Gaza's civilian population." The decision sparked outrage in Israel, with officials condemning it as shameful and absurd. 

Meanwhile, residents of Gaza expressed hope that it would contribute to ending the violence and ensuring accountability for war crimes. Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, denying any war crimes in Gaza. The arrest warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri accuses him of mass killings during the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which sparked the ongoing conflict, as well as charges of rape and hostage-taking.

By Naila Huseynova