As the ICC seeks arrests, I ask those who facilitated the Gaza slaughter: what were you thinking? | Owen Jones

The deaths, the atrocities - all were predicted. Those who ignored all the warnings should be held responsible too

As the international criminal court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, officially seeks arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, a question must be asked of the politicians and media outlets that legitimised Israel's western-backed destruction of Gaza, which is one of the great crimes of our age: what were you thinking?

The arrest warrant requests detail, firstly, how three Hamas leaders should be held criminally responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity including extermination, murder and hostage-taking. Their guilt is incontrovertible, and no cause justifies such depraved crimes against civilians.

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist

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