The International Responsibility of Israeli war Criminals for the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza War 2023-20255

Abstract

The study addresses the issue of international criminal responsibility of the leaders of the Israeli occupation for crimes committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip during the war spanning 2023–2025, with a focus on the crime of genocide as one of the most serious international crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

The study concentrates on the concept of individual responsibility in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, whereby individuals, not states, are held accountable for international crimes. It finds that this responsibility manifests in: committing the crime or contributing to it, whether by direct action, incitement, or providing assistance. Political and military leaders are held accountable for crimes committed by their subordinates if they knew of them or were negligent in preventing them. International crimes do not lapse by prescription, which makes occupation leaders susceptible to accountability regardless of the passage of time. Criminal responsibility is raised through the UN Charter, the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the 1977 Additional Protocols, the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in addition to the role of the International Criminal Court.

Israel’s international responsibility for the crime of genocide in Gaza (2023–2025) is characterized as having its elements complete, where the following were present: material acts such as killing, widespread destruction, and deprivation of the means of survival; and the specific intent consisting of targeting a national group (the Palestinian people) with the purpose of destroying it in whole or in part. There are several mechanisms to pursue Israeli war criminals for these crimes, including recourse to the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Human Rights Council; the International Criminal Court insofar as Palestine is a party to the Rome Statute; international investigative commissions to document the crimes; and the principle of universal jurisdiction that enables some states to prosecute perpetrators of international crimes.

The study demonstrates that Israel’s actions in Gaza between 2023 and 2025 constitute genocide with all elements satisfied under international law, which imposes dual responsibility: individual criminal responsibility reaching military and political leaders, and state responsibility on Israel for breaching peremptory norms of international law. Despite political challenges, continued documentation and activation of international justice mechanisms are essential steps to ensure accountability and prevent impunity.

It is evident that Israeli leaders cannot escape international criminal accountability, as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides for the principle of individual and command responsibility, and affirms that perpetrators of international crimes are subject to prosecution and punishment without immunity or exemption. Accordingly, the war crimes committed in Gaza constitute a solid legal basis for initiating international criminal responsibility against them.

We conclude that the Israeli crimes in Gaza meet the elements of the crime of genocide, and that responsibility rests with the Israeli political and military leaders in their individual capacities. However, prosecuting them faces political and procedural challenges, the most prominent of which are double standards in international practice and pressures from major powers. Nevertheless, international law continues to provide important accountability tools, and ongoing documentation of crimes and activation of international justice mechanisms are essential conditions for achieving deterrence and reparation.

Keywords:

International responsibility, Criminal, War, Israelis, Crime, Genocide, Gaza.