Nov. 23 – The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity relating to the conflict in the Middle East which began on Oct. 8 last year.
The court accused Netanyahu and Gallant of intentionally blocking humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza following its military offensive against the Iran-backed Hamas group, which attacked Israel on Oct. 8 and killed 1,200 people. An estimated 43,000 people in Gaza have died since the conflict began.
The ICC was criticized by Israeli groups and think tanks for issuing the warrants, and has been called “anti-semitic” by the US-based Institute for the study of global antisemitism (ISGAP). The court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who is believed to have been killed by Israel in July.
The United Kingdom sanctioned Iran on Monday, for assisting Russia’s war in Ukraine through the transfer of ballistic missiles.
The sanctions included the imposition of asset freezes on national airline Iran Air, to restrict its commercial flights to and from the UK, and Iran’s state-owned national shipping carrier, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.
The measures against the entities, the UK government said, were “for their role in supporting the Iranian defense sector or transporting weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
And university student Ahoo Daryaei, who was detained by Iran’s morality police for striping to her undergarments and walking around her university campus, in an apparent protest against the country’s draconian dress code, has been released without charge.
The young woman was reportedly taken to a mental health ward in a hospital where authorities said she was being treated for being mentally unwell. Iran’s government has been criticized by human rights campaigners for routinely placing women protesting its forced hijab law in psychiatric units.
While the Islamic Republic’s dress code applies to both men and women, females are disproportionately targeted and are regularly exposed to physical and sexual violence by officials
