Yemen
Israeli military says it launched strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen
The Israeli military said it attacked Houthi targets in the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif, and Ras Qantib power plant in Yemen on Monday.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday slammed the International Criminal Court prosecutor's application for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the move "outrageous".
U.S. President Joe Biden, Miriam Alster/Pool via Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday slammed the International Criminal Court prosecutor's application for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the move "outrageous".
"And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security." Biden said in a statement.
His top aide Secretary of State Antony Blinken also criticized the move, raising questions over the court's jurisdiction as well as its process in making this application. He added that it could jeopardize negotiations to achieve a hostage deal and a ceasefire.
"Fundamentally, this decision does nothing to help, and could jeopardize, ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement that would get hostages out and surge humanitarian assistance in," Blinken said.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he had requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
Khan said in a statement issued after over seven months of war in Gaza that he had reasonable grounds to believe that the five men "bear criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Blinken said Israel was prepared to cooperate with the court and that the prosecutor was scheduled to visit Israel as early as next week, but instead he went on a cable television to announce the charges.
"These and other circumstances call into question the legitimacy and credibility of this investigation," Blinken said.
In 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration accused the ICC of infringing on U.S. national sovereignty when it authorized an investigation into war crimes committed in Afghanistan. The U.S. targeted court staff, including then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, with asset freezes and travel bans.
Biden's administration lifted those sanctions in April 2021.
Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Trevor Hunnicutt and Caitlin Webber
The Israeli military said it attacked Houthi targets in the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif, and Ras Qantib power plant in Yemen on Monday.
Leaders of the BRICS group of developing nations on Sunday condemned attacks on Gaza and Iran, called for reforms of global institutions and presented the bloc as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars.
Israel will send a delegation to Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the changes requested by Hamas to a ceasefire proposal were unacceptable.
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