The Iranian foreign minister has called this hearing in the ICC a test for the independence and impartiality of the judicial body.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian sent letters to the president and chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Piotr Hofmanski and Karim Khan respectively, requesting that they put a stop to Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip, the Iranian ministry announced on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.
“Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian sent letters to the ICC president and chief prosecutor, stressing the need to expedite hearings regarding the recent crimes in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said in a statement, according to TASS news agency.
AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Due to a clear breach by the enemy of the ceasefire agreement in the north of the Gaza Strip today, a field clash occurred, and our fighters dealt with this breach.
FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG: https://t.co/DgXrBhM6Az pic.twitter.com/k0WFIVBnht
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 28, 2023
“The barbaric bombardment of the Gaza Strip and Israel’s invasion of the enclave, which have left more than 14,000 civilians killed and at least 32,000 wounded, are clear examples of war crimes,” the ministry said.
“They must be looked at as crimes against humanity and acts of genocide,” the statement reads.
“The Iranian foreign minister has called this hearing in the ICC a test for the independence and impartiality of the judicial body,” the statement said. “He added that the ICC must now decide whether to resist the pressure exerted on it by some powers or to back down and allow the atrocities committed by Israel to go unpunished.”
On November 20, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the authorities of Iran intended to file a lawsuit with the ICC against Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian #children light candles during a vigil at the Shifa hospital demanding to stop the Israeli aggression on #Gaza.
3,915 children have been killed since the beginning of the war, on October 7. pic.twitter.com/bxFXw9YiHB
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 3, 2023
On November 11, Saudi Arabia hosted a summit of the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The summit’s final statement said that the member-states of these associations would ask the ICC chief prosecutor to investigate Israel’s “war crimes” committed in the Gaza Strip.
Until a ceasefire was announced on Friday, November 24, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that over 15,000 Palestinians, including over 6,150 children and more than 4,000, with another 36,000 wounded.
(TASS, PC)
