Israeli families bring genocide complaint against Hamas to ICC

The families of nine Israeli victims of last month’s Hamas attacks have lodged a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, according to their lawyer.

The families of nine Israeli victims of last month’s Hamas attacks have lodged a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, according to their lawyer.

The families also want Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, prosecuted for suspected war crimes, and for the ICC to issue an international arrest warrant for its leaders, lawyer Francois Zimeray said in a statement on Nov 3 (Friday).

On October 7, Hamas carried out raids that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

“The complaint concerns victims who were all civilians,” Zimeray said, adding that several of them were at the Tribe of Nova music festival.

“The complaint states that the Hamas terrorists do not deny the crimes committed, which they have amply documented and broadcast, and that the … facts cannot therefore be disputed,” he said.

In an interview with France’s Radio Classique, Zimeray said he was always wary of “excessive qualifications” of events.

But, he said, he and his legal team had established that the “genocide” accusation “holds up before the law”.