Arrest warrants were issued on Nov. 7 by a court in Istanbul against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and 33 others Israeli officials. They were charged with crimes against humanity, and the crime of genocide in Gaza. Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor’s office issued a statement, in the words of Anadolu News, that “as a result of the systematic genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the state of Israel in Gaza to date, thousands of people, including women and children, have lost their lives, thousands more have been injured, and residential areas have been rendered unusable.”
It cited, besides the food blockade of Gaza and the denial of access to other humanitarian aid, various specific actions. They include the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab, riddled with 335 bullets; the attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital that claimed 500 lives; the bombing of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital and other medical facilities; the deliberate destruction of medical equipment; and the attack in international waters upon the aid convoy, the Global Sumud Flotilla.
