Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan of the International Criminal Court (ICC) stated on Sunday that the court was looking into potential crimes committed by Islamist Hamas and Israel.

Khan cautioned that obstructing relief supplies might be a felony under the Geneva Conventions, subject to prosecution by the ICC. Over the weekend, he had traveled to the Egyptian border crossing at Rafah.

Regarding the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Khan told reporters in Cairo, “I want to emphasise clearly to Israel that it must make recognizable efforts without further delay to ensure that the civilian population receives basic foodstuffs, medicine, and anaesthetics.”

“Hamas and anybody who has control in Gaza… when such aid reaches Gaza it’s imperative that that assistance gets to Gaza,” the chief prosecutor said in a speech to the region’s leaders.Since the start of the conflict three weeks ago, more than 100 trucks bearing relief have passed through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, which is closed off. Up to 450–500 trucks a day used to arrive in Gaza, according to UN authorities.

However, humanitarian agencies claim that this is far from sufficient to meet the needs of the region’s population of over 2.2 million. The worsening of their circumstances is becoming daily.Khan stated that food, water, and much-needed medical supplies must be provided to the civilian population.

“Efforts must be made immediately to ensure that civilians have access to essential supplies such as food, medication, anesthesia, and morphine. It seems like we are living in the Middle Ages when we read about operations being performed without these essential medications.”

The chief prosecutor declared that the kidnapping of hostages in the Gaza Strip by Hamas constituted “a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions.”

On October 7, terrorists from the Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas group assaulted Israel, resulting in the deaths of over 1,400 people. Over 230 individuals were kidnapped.
Israel launched strong counterattacks, which resulted in an increase in the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip. Over 8,000 Palestinians have lost their lives since the start of the conflict, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which is under Hamas control.