Rafah
\nWhen Israel started relentlessly bombing Gaza, Rasha Abu Shaban packed a handful of belongings and fled south with her parents and siblings.
\nHer brother stayed behind out of fear that he would never be able to come home again.
\nAbu Shaban was in a displacement camp in Rafah when she learned that an Israeli missile had struck her home.
\n\u201cMy brother was killed at the beginning of November. He was there with another family that was displaced in our house,\u201d Abu Shaban, 38, told Al Jazeera. \u201cWe heard from [our neighbours] that an ambulance was prevented from reaching them.\u201d
\nAbu Shaban is one of tens of thousands of Palestinians hungry for justice after losing loved ones, property and livelihoods to Israel\u2019s devastating war on Gaza, which began after a Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities and military outposts on October 7.
\nAbout 1,139 Israelis were killed in that attack, and 250 were taken captive. Since then, Israel has killed more than 35,500 Palestinians in a campaign of violence that UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and other legal experts have described as a genocide.
\nOn May 20, after months of gathering evidence, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar; the head of the movement\u2019s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh; and the head of its military wing, Mohammed Deif.
\nNetanyahu and Gallant are accused of using \u201cstarvation of civilians as a method of warfare\u201d, \u201cextermination\u201d, \u201cwillfully causing great suffering\u201d and deliberately \u201cdirecting attacks against civilians\u201d.
\nThe Hamas leaders are accused of \u201cextermination\u201d, \u201ctaking hostages\u201d and \u201ctorture\u201d.
\nKhan\u2019s announcement marks the first time an ICC chief prosecutor has sought to prosecute senior officials from a close ally of the United States, marking a significant moment in the body\u2019s history.
\nWhile Khan\u2019s announcement gives Abu Shaban hope that Palestinians may obtain justice someday, she fears that Israel and the US will pressure ICC judges to reject Khan\u2019s requests.
\n\u201cI have mixed feelings,\u201d she said. \u201cI really worry that the US and Israel will \u2026 stop the issuing of the arrests [warrants] from happening.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rafah When Israel started relentlessly bombing Gaza, Rasha Abu Shaban packed a handful of belongings and fled south with her parents and siblings. Her brother stayed behind out of fear that he would never be able to come home again. Abu Shaban was in a displacement camp in Rafah when she learned that an Israeli […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-409140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n