In response to ICC warrants, US says Hamas should be ‘killed’ or prosecuted by Israel

The first way that Hamas's top leadership should be prosecuted for war crimes in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza is by being killed by Israel's military, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a news briefing on Monday.

"We absolutely believe that Hamas should be held accountable. That could either be through the prosecution of the war effort by Israel. It could be by being killed. It could be by being brought to justice in an Israeli court," Miller told a crowd of reporters at the State Department.

"The Israeli government should hold them accountable on the battlefield. And if not a battlefield, then a court of law."

The comments came in response to an announcement made earlier on Monday by the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, in which Khan said he was seeking arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders: its political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the head of its armed wing, Ibrahim al-Masri, better known as Mohammed Deif, and the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

Read more: In response to ICC warrants, US says Hamas should be ‘killed’ or prosecuted by Israel