Israeli Oct. 7 victims press ICC to investigate Hamas

Israeli survivors of the Oct. 7 attacks and relatives of victims are stepping up efforts to get the International Criminal Court prosecutor to scrutinise Hamas' crimes as part of his investigation into the attack and Israel's response in Gaza.

"We want to make sure that the world acts and that their freedom is hindered," Udi Goren, cousin of 41-year-old Tal Haimi who was abducted on Oct. 7, said of leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas. Haimi was later confirmed dead, his body still being held in Gaza.

Israeli survivors of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and families of victims want the court to target Hamas leaders with arrest warrants.

"We want to ... make sure that the leaders of Hamas are taken into custody or that they cannot leave Qatar anymore and that this puts pressure on them to release the hostages," Goren said, speaking at Israel's Ben Gurion airport.

Goren was among a group of around 100 family members of hostages preparing to fly to the ICC's headquarters in The Hague.

Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognise its jurisdiction.

But prosecutor Karim Khan reaffirmed to Reuters this week that the court has jurisdiction over the events of Oct. 7 and they form part of the court's investigation. He declined to comment further on the ongoing investigation.

The Israeli hostages' families, who carried pictures of missing loved ones as they prepared to head to The Hague, will file the latest in several so-called article 15 communications on behalf of Israeli victims.

These legal filings are meant to provide information to the prosecution and are part of a wider push to get the ICC to act against Hamas leaders.

Reuters