The International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.

The ICC move now theoretically limits Netanyahu’s movement, as any of the court’s 124 national members would be bound to arrest him on their territory.

“The Chamber issued arrest warrants for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8, 2023 to at least May 20, 2024, the day the Prosecutor’s Office submitted the warrant applications of arrest,” the Hague-based ICC said in a statement.

A warrant has also been issued for Deif, he added.

Israel said in early August that it had killed Deif in an airstrike in southern Gaza in July, although Hamas denies he is dead.

The arrest warrants were classified as “secret” to protect witnesses and protect the conduct of investigations, the court said.

“However, the Chamber has decided to publish the information below because conduct similar to that mentioned in the arrest warrant appears to be ongoing,” the tribunal said.

“Furthermore, the Chamber considers that it is in the interest of the victims and their families that they be made aware of the existence of the warrants.”

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan asked the court in May to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Netanyahu fired Gallant as defense minister on November 5.

Khan also sought warrants against Hamas leaders, including Mohammed Deif, on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The prosecutor dropped the request for Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s political leader, on Aug. 2 “due to the change in circumstances caused by the death of Mr. Haniyeh” in Tehran on July 31, the ICC previously said in a statement.

Since Hamas led the attack on October 7, 2023, the deadliest in Israel’s history, Israel has waged a war in Gaza, which the militant group rules.

The war was sparked by the attack on Israel by Hamas militants, a stunning cross-border raid that left 1,206 people dead, most of them civilians, according to official Israeli figures AFP.

The Health Ministry of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip said on Thursday that at least 44,056 people had been killed in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

The toll includes 71 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 104,268 people had been injured in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

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