The International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan told CNN on Sunday that anyone who targets civilian infrastructure in the Israel-Gaza conflict will need to "justify every strike.”
"There should be no doubt that every decision-maker, from head of government, to military advisors, to lawyers that have targeting-making decisions, should be on clear notice that they will be required to justify every strike against every civilian object," Khan said.
"What I can say, clearly, is the willful killing and hostage-taking are great breeches of the Geneva Conventions," Khan said. "In all circumstances, human objects have to be protected, unless you can establish that they've lost their protection," he continued.
Khan said civilian targets, such as a “house or school or hospital or a church or a mosque,” are required to be protected under international law unless they become military objectives.
He said to determine whether those targets are military objectives is “complex” and will require analysis and information.
"You've got to prove that — you can't assume it. And the burden of proof is on the person that is firing at, or targeting the dwelling house, or the school or the hospital or the church or the mosque,” Khan outlined.
The prosecutor also warned that denying humanitarian assistance to civilians is a crime.
"I think that's, again, a matter that needs urgent consideration by Israel — to make sure that food and medicine go to children and women and men," Khan said.
He suggested that, even if a child were to survive an attack initially, a subsequent lack of medical care may mean dire consequences.
"What kind of hope does a baby have, does a child have, to medical care if there's no anesthetic? If there's no morphine? If there's no medicine?" he asked.
"Whether a child is born Jewish in Israel or is a Christian or Muslim in Gaza — they're children and we should have that sense of humanity — that legal, ethical, moral responsibility to do right by them," Khan stated.
More background: The ICC is an independent organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands and is not part of the United Nations system. Under Article 5 of the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
However, the ICC can only exercise jurisdiction over crimes if they were committed on the territory of a country that is a member — or by one of its nationals.
Israel is not party to the Rome Statute.
There have been some case-by-case exceptions. A state that is not party to the ICC can make a declaration to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC, and the United Nations Security Council can refer situation to the ICC even if the UN member state is not party to the statute.