ICC prosecutor to visit Israel at request of Oct 7 Hamas attack victims

FILE PHOTO: International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters about the violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in The Hague, Netherlands, October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan is visiting Israel at the request of Israeli survivors and the families of victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks from Gaza, the court said Thursday.

Khan will also visit Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to meet with senior Palestinian officials, the ICC said.

The visit will not be investigative, the ICC said, adding that it “represents (an) opportunity to express sympathy for all victims and engage in dialogue.”

Last month, Israeli families of victims of the Hamas attacks appealed to the ICC to order an investigation into the killings and abductions.

READ: Israeli victims’ families urge ICC to investigate Oct 7 Hamas attacks

The families had urged Khan to focus his investigation on Hamas’ October 7 actions in southern Israel, including enforced disappearances, which the court views as a crime against humanity.

Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, Israel said. That prompted an air and ground counterattack by Israel in which more than 15,000 Gazans have been confirmed killed, according to Palestinian health authorities deemed reliable by the United Nations. A further 6,500 are missing, many feared still buried under rubble.