Iran's Khamenei demands death sentence for Israeli leaders after ICC warrants

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates ? The supreme leader of Iran, which backs the Hamas and Hezbollah militants fighting Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, said Monday that death sentences should be issued for Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was commenting on a decision last week by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense chief and a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri.

"They issued an arrest warrant. That's not enough. ... Death sentence must be issued for these criminal leaders," Khamenei said, referring to Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant.

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In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza."

The decision was met with outrage in Israel, which called it shameful and absurd. Gaza residents expressed hope it would help end the violence and bring those responsible for alleged war crimes to justice.

Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.

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The warrant for Al-Masri lists charges of mass killings in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war on the long-blockaded Palestinian enclave, plus charges of rape and taking hostages.

An estimated 1,200 Israelis were killed in the 2023 Hamas attack, and 43,000 Palestinians have died in the war in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry.

Israel has said it killed Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July, but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran's supreme leader wants death sentence for Netanyahu and Gallant