Gaza live: Gaza death toll rises to 35,80

Karim Khan also laid out the case against the Israeli leadership in his statement:

“On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Defence of Israel, bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023:

• Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;

• Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);

• Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);

• Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i);

• Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity;

• Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(h);

• Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(k).”

In a statement the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan said:

“On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Yahya Sinwar (Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (“Hamas”) in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, more commonly known as Deif (Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail Haniyeh (Head of Hamas Political Bureau) bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023:

• Extermination as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(b) of the Rome Statute;

• Murder as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(a), and as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);

• Taking hostages as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(iii);

• Rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(g), and also as war crimes pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(vi) in the context of captivity;

• Torture as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(f), and also as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity;

• Other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(l)(k), in the context of captivity;

• Cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity; and

• Outrages upon personal dignity as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(ii), in the context of captivity.”

The chief prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, told CNN that "nobody is above the law," after annoucing that he is seeking arrest warrants for senior Hamas and Israeli leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He said that if Israel disagrees with the ICC, “they are free, notwithstanding their objections to jurisdiction, to raise a challenge before the judges of the court and that’s what I advise them to do.”

The court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan laid out the charges to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview on Monday.

A panel of ICC judges will now consider Khan’s application for the arrest warrants.

Khan said the charges against Sinwar, Haniyeh and al-Masri include “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention.”

The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict,” Khan told Amanpour.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday announced that it has applied for arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes.

In addition to them the ICC has applied for arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders they include Yahya Sinwar, as well as two other top Hamas leaders - Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, the leader of the Al Qassem Brigades and better known as Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader.

Israel should not be sanctioned, and wars and conflicts should not influence participation in international sport, according to the head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). 

Andrew Parsons drew a distinction between Israel's actions and that of Russia and Belarus, whose athletes cannot represent their countries in the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics in Paris this summer. 

Russian and Belarusian athletes can partake as neutrals, without flags or anthems being played. 

"The situations are different... The Russian and Belarusian Paralympic committees were suspended because both organisations have breached the [Olympic] constitution," Parsons told Reuters on Monday. "They used the Olympic movement to promote the war and the invasion of Ukraine."

He said that the Israeli and Palestinian committees had not done anything that breached the constitution and warranted suspension.

"We don't want to be directed by the conflicts around the world. I think the message is the other way around, that even if there are countries who are in conflict, even in the most difficult and challenging situations, support can still be a beacon of hope," Parsons said. 

The Olympics take place from 26 July to 11 August, while the Paralympics take place between 28 August and 8 September. 

In a column last month, Washington Post associate editor Ruth Marcus criticised the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) finding that it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

She asserted that "somehow Israel seems always to be held to a different, higher standard than other countries. The ICJ's ruling is the latest manifestation of this familiar double standard, from an entity from which we should be able to expect better".

The ICJ's finding doesn't stem from holding Israel to "a different, higher standard". Haaretz reported that, during the first three weeks of Israel's offensive in Gaza, 61 percent of those Israel killed were noncombatants, whereas author Yagil Levy points out, "in wars fought during the 20th century, up until the 1990s, about half of those killed were civilians."

Read more: Why Israel deserves to be singled out for criticism

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan that Israel is committed to expanding its ground assault in Rafah in order to dismantle Hamas. 

Gallant's office said it presented in the meeting with Sullivan "adjustments made by Israel to evacuate the population and put in place an adequate humanitarian response".

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said on Monday that more than 810,000 people fled Rafah in the past two weeks.

It said on X: “Every time families are displaced, their lives are at serious risk. People are forced to leave everything behind looking for safety. But there’s no safe zone.”

Israeli forces bombed several parts of the Gaza Strip overnight, killing dozens and wounding others, according to Wafa news agency.

In Gaza City, Israeli artillery fired on the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, while warplanes bombed the vicinity of Sheikh Zakaria Mosque in the al-Daraj neighbourhood, killing three people. 

Also in Gaza City, Israeli air strikes bombed a house owned by the al-Attar family in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, killing three others. 

In northern Gaza, Israeli Apache helicopters fired at Jabalia refugee camp, which has been under Israeli siege for several days. Elsewhere in the north, six people were killed after Israeli forces bombed an apartment in Beit Lahia. 

In the south, Israeli air strikes targeted a residential apartment belonging to the Khafaja family in Tal al-Sultan in Rafah, killing one man, his wife and their 15-month-old daughter.

Qatari State Minister Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi said there is no political will to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Reuters reported on Monday. 

Qatar, along with the US and Egypt, has played a critical role in mediating between Israel and Hamas since the 7 October attack. In November, Doha helped broker a temporary ceasefire during which Hamas released 81 Israeli captives in exchange for 240 Palestinians.

However, months of subsequent diplomatic efforts have struggled due to wide gaps between Israel and Hamas.

An Israeli official told Reuters that Israel was not involved in the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

The helicopter crash comes just as Iran’s relations with Israel recently reached new lows. 

Last month the two countries exchanged fire, sparked by an Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Iran is also a strong supporter of Hezbollah and Hamas.

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said on Saturday that he would resign from the body unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a day-after plan for the Gaza Strip.

Gantz, Netanyahu's main political opponent, demanded that the government adopt a six-point plan for the war in Gaza in three weeks' time.

"The war cabinet must formulate and approve by June 8 an action plan that will lead to the realisation of six strategic goals of national importance... [or] we will be forced to resign from the government," Gantz said, referring to his party, in a televised address directed at Netanyahu.

Gantz's proposed plan would include establishing a temporary US-European-Arab-Palestinian system of civil administration for Gaza while Israel retains security control.

Read more: Israel's Gantz threatens to quit unless post-war Gaza plan approved

The Israeli army has said it killed two police officers in Gaza in air strikes that it alleged are members of Hamas.

The Israeli army said in a post on X that Zaher al-Houli, a senior police officer who worked in central Gaza, was targeted in a strike on Sunday.

A separate attack killed Rami Khalil Faki, a senior officer in the Nuseirat police in central Gaza, who Israeli again claimed was part of Hamas. 

Israeli claims could not be independently verified. 

Israeli warplanes struck sites that allegedly belong to the Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon, according to a statement by the army.

Buildings in Blida, Jibbain and Odaisseh, alongside an observation post in Chihine, were hit, the military said on Monday.