The International Criminal Court is reported to have issued confidential arrest warrants targeting five Israeli officials, including political figures and military officers, in a further escalation of legal scrutiny linked to Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.

According to reports published in the Israeli press, the warrants were issued privately and have not yet been formally announced by the court. The identities of those named and the exact timing of the decisions remain unclear. The ICC has previously used sealed procedures before later making warrants public.

If confirmed, the reported measures would expand the number of Israeli officials facing ICC action to seven. In November 2024, the court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former military affairs minister Yoav Gallant on allegations linked to war crimes and crimes against humanity during the genocidal war launched against Gaza in October 2023.

Since then, Gaza’s health authorities say tens of thousands of Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, have been killed during Israeli military operations across the besieged enclave, while hundreds of thousands more have been wounded or displaced.

The reports also renewed attention on mounting political pressure surrounding the ICC’s investigations. Previous claims published by Middle East Eye alleged that chief prosecutor Karim Khan had faced threats and warnings connected to the court’s pursuit of Israeli officials, amid growing international debate over accountability for actions carried out during the genocidal war in Gaza.