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Reactions to the ICC warrants

An exterior view of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, 21 November 2024. EPA/REMKO DE WAAL
An exterior view of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, 21 November 2024. EPA/REMKO DE WAAL
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Reactions to the ICC warrants

An exterior view of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, 21 November 2024. EPA/REMKO DE WAAL
An exterior view of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, 21 November 2024. EPA/REMKO DE WAAL

These are reactions to the International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Ibrahim al-Masri, who is believed to be dead.

The warrants are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel's military campaign in Gaza since then.

ISRAEL:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office:
"Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions leveled against it by ICC," the office said, calling the move antisemitic.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog:
"The decision chose the side of terrorism and evil over democracy and freedom and turned the international justice system itself into a human shield for Hamas' crimes against humanity."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar:
"A dark moment for the International Criminal Court," Saar said, adding the court had "lost all legitimacy" and adding that it had issued "absurd orders without authority".

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid:
"Israel defends its life against terrorist organizations that attacked, murdered and raped our citizens, these arrest warrants are a reward for terrorism."

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
"Israel will continue to defend its citizens and its security with determination," he said, urging Netanyahu to sever contact with the court and impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority and its leaders "to the point of its collapse".

Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir:
"The International Criminal Court in The Hague shows once again that it is antisemitic through and through."

PALESTINIANS:

Hamas official statement:
"We call on the International Criminal Court to expand the scope of accountability to all criminal occupation leaders."

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim:
"This is an important step on the path to justice and bringing justice to the victims but it remains a limited and spiritual step if it is not backed practically by all countries."

UNITED STATES:
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President-elect Trump: "The Court is a dangerous joke. It is now time for the US Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body."

EUROPE:
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ICC warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are not political and the court decision should be respected and implemented.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp told parliament, "The Netherlands obviously respects the independence of the ICC," adding: "We won't engage in non-essential contacts and we will act on the arrest warrants. We fully comply with the Rome Statute of the ICC," he added.

France's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said the French reaction to the warrants would be "in line with ICC statutes" but declined to say whether France would arrest the leader if he came to the country. "It's a point that is legally complex," he said.

Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said, "It is important that the ICC carries out its mandate in a judicious manner. I have confidence that the court will proceed with the case based on the highest fair trial standards."

Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris called the warrants "an extremely significant step" and added that Ireland respects the role of the ICC and anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must do so "with urgency".

MIDDLE EAST:
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the ICC rulings should be respected and implemented, adding that "Palestinians deserve justice".

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World

Death Toll Jumps to at Least 82 in China Coal Mine Blast

This photo released by Xinhua News Agency, shows a scene at the rescue site of the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi city, China's Shanxi Province, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Cao Yang/Xinhua via AP)
This photo released by Xinhua News Agency, shows a scene at the rescue site of the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi city, China's Shanxi Province, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Cao Yang/Xinhua via AP)
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Death Toll Jumps to at Least 82 in China Coal Mine Blast

This photo released by Xinhua News Agency, shows a scene at the rescue site of the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi city, China's Shanxi Province, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Cao Yang/Xinhua via AP)
This photo released by Xinhua News Agency, shows a scene at the rescue site of the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi city, China's Shanxi Province, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Cao Yang/Xinhua via AP)

The death toll from a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China's Shanxi province has jumped to at least 82, state media Xinhua reported on Saturday, with nine still missing.

The gas explosion occurred late on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county, with 247 workers on duty underground, Xinhua reported earlier in the day.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for ⁠authorities to "spare no ⁠effort" in treating the injured and conducting search and rescue operations, while ordering a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident and strict accountability in accordance with the law, according to Xinhua.

Premier ⁠Li Qiang echoed the instructions, calling for timely and accurate release of information and rigorous accountability, Reuters reported.

Rescue operations were ongoing and the cause of the accident was under investigation, according to the local emergency management authority in Qinyuan.

China has significantly reduced coal mine fatalities - often caused by gas explosions or flooding - since the early 2000s through more stringent regulations ⁠and ⁠safer practices. The Liushenyu incident, though, was one of the deadliest reported in China in the past decade.

Executives of the company responsible for the mine have been detained, Xinhua reported.

Earlier Xinhua had reported only eight dead, with more than 200 people safely brought to the surface. It did not explain the jump in the death toll.

World

Gabbard Resigns as Trump's Top US Intelligence Official

FILE - Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
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Gabbard Resigns as Trump's Top US Intelligence Official

FILE - Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Tulsi Gabbard said on Friday she was resigning from her job as President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence, saying her husband had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and she was leaving her role to help him.

Gabbard advised Trump of her intention to step down during an Oval Office meeting on Friday, Fox News Digital reported earlier. The resignation is effective June 30, it said.

In her resignation letter posted on X, Gabbard told Trump she was "deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half."

She cited her husband Abraham Williams' recent diagnosis of bone cancer.

"I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming post," Reuters quoted her as saying.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas would become acting director. Lukas is a former CIA officer and analyst who served on the National Security Council during Trump's first term.

Trump said Gabbard had done "a great job" but with her husband's cancer diagnosis, "she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together."

A source familiar ⁠with the matter ⁠said that Gabbard had been forced out by the White House.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment, but Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, said on X that Gabbard was departing in light of her husband's diagnosis.

Trump has hinted in the past at differences with Gabbard on their approach to Iran, saying in March that she was "softer" than him on curbing Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

In April, several sources told Reuters that Gabbard could lose her role in a broader cabinet shakeup.

A senior White House official said then that Trump had expressed displeasure with Gabbard in recent months. Another source with direct knowledge of the matter said the president had asked allies for their thoughts on potential replacements for his intelligence chief.

Gabbard had no ⁠deep intelligence experience when Trump tapped the former Democratic member of Congress to head the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, an agency created to oversee the 18 US intelligence agencies after the September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacks on the US.

A member of the Hawaii National Guard, she served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, became an officer, transferred to the US Army Reserve and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Her departure from Congress saw her adopt conservative viewpoints, endorse Trump for president in 2024 and join the Republican Party.

She faced bipartisan criticism for comments seen as echoing Russia’s statements blaming NATO for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and for meeting former Syrian President Bashar Assad during a 2017 trip to Damascus during a brutal civil war in which he received Russian and Iranian backing.

Once she took office, Democrats accused Gabbard of using her post to advance Trump’s drive to retaliate against his perceived enemies and back his efforts to prove debunked claims that fraud foiled his re-election in 2020.

Signs of tension with the White House appeared when Trump in June suggested she was wrong in assessing there was no evidence that Iran was building ⁠a nuclear weapon.

She has been absent ⁠from deliberations between Trump and his top national security advisers on major foreign policy issues, including the US military operation that deposed former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the Iran war and Cuba.

"She was pushed out by the White House," the source familiar with Gabbard's departure told Reuters. "The White House has been unhappy with her for quite some time."

The person said among other reasons for the displeasure with Gabbard were the activities of her taskforce known as the Director’s Initiatives Group. The group has worked to declassify documents related to the death of former President John F. Kennedy, investigate the security of election machines and probe the origins of COVID-19.

Another source of friction, the person said, was Gabbard’s revocation last August of the security clearances of 37 current and former US officials that exposed the name of an intelligence officer serving undercover overseas.

Gabbard led several initiatives she cast as rooting out politicization from the intelligence community and approved the stripping of security clearances from former intelligence officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan.

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a leading Gabbard critic, told reporters after a Friday event in Manassas, Virginia, that Gabbard's job itself had become too politicized.

"This position now more than ever needs to be an independent, experienced intelligence professional," Warner said.

The next leader should understand the "director of national intelligence should be focusing on foreign intelligence and not involving himself or herself in domestic election incidents," he said.

World

Freed Gaza Flotilla Activists Allege Israeli Abuse Including Rape

Italian members of the Global Sumud Flotilla arrive at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome on Thursday, May 21, 2026, after they were released and deported by the Israeli government after attempting to reach Gaza. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)
Italian members of the Global Sumud Flotilla arrive at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome on Thursday, May 21, 2026, after they were released and deported by the Israeli government after attempting to reach Gaza. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)
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Freed Gaza Flotilla Activists Allege Israeli Abuse Including Rape

Italian members of the Global Sumud Flotilla arrive at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome on Thursday, May 21, 2026, after they were released and deported by the Israeli government after attempting to reach Gaza. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)
Italian members of the Global Sumud Flotilla arrive at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome on Thursday, May 21, 2026, after they were released and deported by the Israeli government after attempting to reach Gaza. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)

Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to bring aid to Gaza were subjected to abuse, organizers said on Friday, with several hospitalized with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape.

Israel's prison service denied the allegations, and Reuters was not able to verify them independently.

Germany said some of its nationals had been injured and that some accusations were "serious", without giving further details. A legal source in Italy said prosecutors there were investigating possible crimes including kidnapping and sexual assault.

"The allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis," an Israeli prison service spokesperson said in a statement.

"All prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law, with full regard for their basic rights and under the supervision of professional and trained prison staff," it said. "Medical care is provided according to professional medical judgment and in accordance with Ministry of Health guidelines."

The Israeli military referred queries to the foreign ministry, which referred them to the prison service.

Israeli forces arrested 430 people on board 50 ships in international waters on Tuesday to halt a flotilla of ‌volunteers trying to bring ‌aid supplies to the Gaza Strip.

The allegations of abuse will add to pressure on Israeli authorities to ‌explain the ⁠treatment of the ⁠detainees, after video of an Israeli cabinet minister in a prison mocking some of the activists sparked an international outcry. Italy said EU members were discussing imposing sanctions on the minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.

ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

Global Sumud Flotilla, the organizers of the aid shipment, said the group had documented at least 15 cases of sexual abuse, with the worst occurring on one Israeli landing craft which had been converted into a makeshift prison with barbed wire and shipping containers.

Detainees were thrown into the containers and beaten over the head and ribs, the group said in a statement.

They suffered multiple cases of sexual abuse, including "humiliating strip searches, sexual taunting, groping and pulling of genitals, and multiple accounts of rape."

"At least 12 sexual assaults have been documented on that vessel alone, including anal rape and forcible penetration ⁠by a handgun," it added.

The statement was released after the Israeli prison service's blanket denial of mistreatment, rape and ‌sexual assault allegations. Reuters sent the additional specific allegations to the prison service but did not receive ‌a reply after hours on Friday, a holiday in Israel.

Ilaria Mancosu, an Italian activist, said the flotilla members were removed from their boats to two so-called prison ships. ‌Those put on one of the ships suffered more violence than the other. They were locked in a container and beaten by five soldiers, ‌suffering fractures to the ribs and arms. Some had serious injuries to their eyes and ears caused by tasers.

She said they spent two days on the prison ships with no running water and used cardboard and plastic to keep warm at night, since they had no blankets and were stripped of most of their clothes.

Once on land they were made to kneel for several hours and kicked and shoved if they moved or spoke. They were then taken to a prison where they were ‌moved from room to room periodically to keep them from sleeping, she said.

ROME PROSECUTORS INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE CRIMES

Rome prosecutors are investigating the possible crimes of kidnapping, torture and sexual assault and will hear testimony from activists ⁠who have returned to Italy over ⁠the coming days, the Italian legal source said.

A German Foreign Ministry spokesperson said consular officials who met German activists on their arrival in Istanbul reported that a number had injuries and were undergoing medical checks.

Humane treatment of German nationals was an "absolute priority," the spokesperson said, and "we naturally expect a full explanation, as some of the allegations that have been made are serious".

Sabrina Charik, who helped organize the return of 37 French citizens from the flotilla, told Reuters five French participants had been hospitalized in Türkiye, some with broken ribs or fractured vertebrae. Some had made detailed accusations of sexual violence, including of rape, she said.

In an Instagram post by an activist group verified by Reuters, French national Adrien Jouen showed bruises across his back and on his forearms.

Activists said some of the alleged abuse took place at sea after their interception by Israeli naval forces, and some following their arrest and imprisonment in Israel.

Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters that 44 Spanish flotilla members were expected to arrive on Friday on flights from Istanbul to Madrid and Barcelona. Four of them had received medical treatment for injuries, he added.

Western governments on Thursday had expressed their anger after Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself mocking activists being pinned to the ground in a prison.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Sweden that he was in touch with all his EU counterparts "so that there may be a quick decision to impose sanctions" on Ben-Gvir.