Police arrest dozens as they break up pro-Palestinian protests at several US universities

Police made dozens of arrests as pro-Palestinian protest encampments were dismantled Friday at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, hours after police tear-gassed demonstrators and took down a similar camp at the University of Arizona.

Philadelphia and campus police at Penn took action around daybreak to remove protesters from an encampment in place for more than two weeks. School officials said protesters were given warnings and the chance to leave without being detained.

Initially, officials said 33 people, including faculty members and seven students, were among those arrested and charged with trespass, the school said. Later, school officials said nine students were among those arrested and that the remainder were people who had no affiliation with Penn. Upon searching the encampment, Penn police recovered several long lengths of heavy gauge chains, as well as smaller chains with nuts and bolts attached that police said could be used as weapons, officials said.

Protest camps have sprung up across the U.S. and in Europe in recent weeks as students demand their universities stop doing business with Israel or companies that support its war efforts. Organizers seek to amplify calls to end Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which they describe as a genocide against the Palestinians. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, police in riot gear arrived at MIT around 4 a.m., encircled the camp and gave protesters about 15 minutes to leave. Ten students who remained were arrested, the university’s president said. A crowd outside the camp began chanting pro-Palestinian slogans but was quickly dispersed.

At the University of Arizona in Tucson, campus police in riot gear fired tear gas at protesters late Thursday — the day before the school's main commencement ceremony — before tearing down an encampment that included wood and plastic barriers. The school said police vehicles were spiked, and rocks and water bottles were thrown at officers and university staff. Two people were arrested, a university spokesperson said. Friday night's commencement will go forward, university President Robert Robbins said.

And at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, police arrested 13 people Thursday night after they refused to leave a damaged and vandalized building. The charges ranged from misdemeanor trespass to felonies including battery on a peace officer, school spokesperson Amanda Bradford said. The building, Hadley Hall, was cleared and open Friday.

Protesters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison agreed Friday to permanently dismantle their 2-week-old encampment and not disrupt graduation ceremonies this weekend, in return for the opportunity to connect with “decision-makers” who control university investments by July 1. The university agreed to increase support for scholars and students affected by wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Graduates from Pomona College in Southern California will have to travel 40 miles (65 km) for their commencement ceremony Sunday, as administrators seek to avoid a current encampment. The college said it will provide transportation to the venue, a historic theater in Los Angeles. In April, protesters entered an administration building and police arrested 20 people.

The protest movement began nearly three weeks ago at Columbia University in New York City. Some colleges nationwide cracked down immediately, while others tolerated the demonstrations. Some recently started calling in the police, citing concerns about disruptions to campus life and safety.

The Associated Press has recorded at least 75 instances since April 18 in which arrests were made at U.S. campus protests. Nearly 2,900 people have been arrested at 57 colleges and universities. The figures are based on AP reporting and statements from schools and law enforcement agencies.

Arizona State University on Friday confirmed that it had placed its campus police chief on paid administrative leave pending a review of “complaints filed related to his actions” two weeks ago when an encampment was removed and police made more than 70 arrests during a pro-Palestine rally on the campus in Tempe.

The school said it was reviewing actions surrounding the establishment and removal of the encampment. Local news outlets reported earlier that ASU Police Chief Michael Thompson had been placed on leave after he had been seen out of uniform cutting and removing tents during the protest. The school told ABC15 Arizona earlier he had left a meeting to respond to the rally.

Although their encampment was cleared after two weeks, demonstrators at George Washington University vowed Friday to keep up their protest campaign.

Police arrested 33 people on Wednesday while ousting the initial encampment. The next night, a crowd of chanting demonstrators returned to the university about five blocks from the White House, setting up tents while a large Metropolitan Police Department force assembled. After multiple warnings to disperse, protests leaders ended the demonstration around midnight. One person was arrested for throwing water at a police officer.

The move at MIT came several days after police first attempted to clear the camp, only to see protesters storm past barriers and restore the encampment, which includes about a dozen tents in the heart of the campus in Cambridge.

Before removing the encampment, MIT earlier in the week started suspending dozens of students, meaning they're barred from academic activities or commencement.

Protesters insist they will keep demanding MIT cut all ties to the Israeli military. The encampment was up for weeks and especially angered Jewish students, who held counterprotests nearby.

“This is only going to make us stronger. They can’t arrest the movement," said Quinn Perian, an undergraduate student and organizer for MIT Jews for Ceasefire. “MIT would rather arrest and suspend some students than they would end their complicity with the genocide going in Gaza.”

MIT President Sally Kornbluth, in a letter confirming Friday's arrests, wrote that her responsibility is “to make sure that the campus is physically safe and functioning for everyone ... and that everyone feels free to express their views.” The encampment, she wrote, “increasingly made it impossible to meet all these obligations.”

Associated Press journalists Christopher L. Keller, Scott Sonner, Scott Bauer and Ashraf Khalil contributed to this report.

A man removes posters of Israeli hostages from a pro-Israeli display, which were the last items to be removed from the area after police raided and dismantled the pro-Palestinian encampment at MIT, which police raided before dawn Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Police confront protesters at the University of Pennsylvania campus, in Philadelphia, on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Police arrive to remove protesters on the University of Pennsylvania campus, in Philadelphia, on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Police gather to clear protesters at the University of Pennsylvania campus, in Philadelphia, on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Protesters stand on the University of Pennsylvania campus, in Philadelphia, on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Police detain a protester on the University of Pennsylvania campus, in Philadelphia, on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Police remove a protester on the University of Pennsylvania campus, in Philadelphia, on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Protesters lock arms on Penn campus as police clear the encampment showing support for Palestinians in Gaza, at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Protesters lock arms at the Ben Franklin Statue on Penn campus as police clear the encampment showing support for Palestinians in Gaza, at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Demonstrators retreat as several area law enforcement agencies clear an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters off the University of Arizona campus, early Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Ariz. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Protesters lock arms on Penn campus as police clear the encampment showing support for Palestinians in Gaza, at University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Friday, May 10, 2024. (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Demonstrators lock arms near the intersection of Park Avenue and University Boulevard as they confront law enforcement officers, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

A man walks by a perimeter of police in riot gear as police dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment at MIT, at dawn Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

A police officer watches as workers dismantle the remains of a pro-Palestinian encampent at MIT, at dawn on Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

A police officer in riot gear walks past a garbage truck being loaded with the remains of the pro-Palestinian encampment at MIT, which police raided before dawn Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

A line of police in riot gear walk past a garbage truck being loaded with the remains of the pro-Palestinian encampment at MIT, which police raided before dawn Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Workers dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment at MIT, after police cleared the encampment before dawn Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

An officer fires a chemical ammunition round into a cluster of demonstrators while clearing an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators off the University of Arizona campus, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

A Police officer stands behind a display of Israeli flags beside the pro-Palestinian encampment that police raided and dismantled at MIT, before dawn Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Demonstrators shields to fend off some of the pepper balls fired at them as law enforcement officers as they are pushed off the University of Arizona campus and west on University Boulevard, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Demonstrators retreat along University Boulevard in a cloud of teargas as law enforcement officers use chemical ammunition to clear an encampment off the University of Arizona campus, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Demonstrators lock arms after retreating out of their encampment as law enforcement officers push them down Park Avenue and off the University of Arizona campus, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

An organizer speaks to an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators preparing to face off with law enforcement on the University of Arizona campus, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Officers from several area law enforcement agencies form a line and advance on an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the University of Arizona campus, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Several area law enforcement agencies stand at the intersection of University Boulevard and Park Avenue after ejecting a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators off the University of Arizona campus, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Demonstrators form a line as they prepare to face off with hundreds of law enforcement officers pushing them out of their encampment at the University of Arizona, Friday, May 10, 2024, Tucson, Az. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Police dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment at MIT, before dawn Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

A line of police in riot gear walk past police dismantling pro-Palestinian encampment at MIT, before dawn Friday, May 10, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Israel and the U.S. on Monday both harshly condemned an effort by the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for Israeli officials in connection with the seven-month war in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called chief prosecutor Karim Khan's announcement a “disgrace” and an attack on the Israeli military and all of Israel. He also vowed to press ahead with Israel’s war against Hamas militants. Earlier Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Yoav Gallant said the military would expand its operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in its efforts to crush Hamas.

“As prime minister of Israel, I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutor’s comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murders of Hamas,” Netanyahu said. “No pressure and no decision in any international forum will prevent us from striking those who seek to destroy us.”

In his announcement earlier Monday, Khan said he believes Netanyahu, Gallant and three Hamas leaders — Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

President Joe Biden issued a strongly worded statement denouncing Khan's announcement, saying “whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”

“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden added. The Biden administration has opposed a full-fledged invasion of Rafah, however, because of fears for the civilian population.

Hamas issued a separate statement denouncing the request to arrest its leaders, accusing Khan of trying to “equate the victim with the executioner.” Hamas said it has the right to resist Israeli occupation, including “armed resistance.”

Meanwhile, Israel is claiming that U.N. investigators ignored evidence that its agency for Palestinian refugees is employing hundreds of Hamas members, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing tensions, Iranian officials announced that President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders. Iran backs Hamas, and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, also supported by Tehran, has fired rockets at Israel. Last month, Iran launched its own an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Gallant and the Israeli military leadership in Tel Aviv earlier Monday.

Israel launched its offensive after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250.

The war has killed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. Around 80% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced within the territory, often multiple times.

Currently:

— Iranian president and foreign minister killed in helicopter crash.

— ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Netanyahu.

— Senior Republican close to Trump criticizes Biden’s arms holdup in speech to Israeli parliament.

— Pro-Palestinian protesters at Drexel University ignore calls to disband

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Here's the latest:

JERUSALEM — Israel is claiming that U.N. investigators ignored evidence that its agency for Palestinian refugees is employing hundreds of Hamas members, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

In the letter, sent last week to the U.N. secretary-general, Israel’s Foreign Ministry claimed it had given a list of hundreds of agency staffers who were members of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant groups to U.N. investigators charged with investigating UNRWA.

The U.N. has launched two investigations in light of Israeli allegations that a dozen employees of UNRWA had participated in the Oct 7. Hamas attack on Israel. As part of those investigations, the U.N. turned over the names of its thousands of UNRWA employees in Gaza for Israeli vetting.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an intelligence assessment, said the vetting found hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members in the U.N. ranks.

Amir Weissbrod, the ministry’s deputy director of the department for the U.N. and international organizations, accused the U.N. investigators of ignoring the list of militants. He called on the world body to fire the suspect employees.

“It was clarified to us time and time again that neither of them holds the mandate to investigate the broader issue of the employment of Hamas and PIJ members by UNRWA,” wrote Weissbrod. “The practical ramification is grave: No U.N. agency is investigating the most extensive infiltration ever of a U.N. body by a terrorist organization.”

In April, one of the two U.N. investigations found that UNRWA has “robust” procedures to uphold the U.N. principle of neutrality but cited serious gaps in implementation.

The internal U.N. watchdog known as OIOS is conducting a separate investigation into the Israeli allegations that UNRWA staffers participated in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the move by a war crimes prosecutor to seek his arrest as a “disgrace” and an attack on the Israeli military and all of Israel.

In a statement, Netanyahu also vowed to press ahead with Israel’s war against Hamas militants.

Netanyahu said the request for an arrest warrant was “absurd” and accused the prosecution of antisemitism.

“As prime minister of Israel, I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutor’s comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murders of Hamas,” he said. “No pressure and no decision in any international forum will prevent us from striking those who seek to destroy us.”

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday condemned as “outrageous” an attempt by the chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with those of Hamas over actions taken during their seven-month war.

In a sharply worded statement, Biden rejected the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor’s to seek the arrest of Netanyahu and Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, saying “whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”

“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden added.

The court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, accused Netanyahu, Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

A panel of three judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow a case to proceed.

WASHINGTON — The United States government on Monday vehemently rejected a request by the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor to arrest Israeli leaders for their actions in the war in Gaza.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said Monday that he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and three Hamas leaders: Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. Khan says all are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas.

“We reject the Prosecutor’s equivalence of Israel with Hamas,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a written statement. “It is shameful. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and is still holding dozens of innocent people hostage, including Americans.” The statement also reiterated the U.S. position that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the conflict.

Hamas issued a separate statement denouncing the request to seek the arrests of its leaders, and accusing Khan of trying to “equate the victim with the executioner.” Hamas said it has the right to resist Israeli occupation, including “armed resistance.”

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Hamas militant group has denounced a request by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to seek the arrests of its leaders, as well as top Israeli leaders.

In a statement Monday, Hamas accused the prosecutor of trying to “equate the victim with the executioner.” It said it has the right to resist Israeli occupation, including “armed resistance.”

It also criticized the court for seeking the arrests of only two Israeli leaders and said it should seek warrants for others.

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said Monday that he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and three Hamas leaders: Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. Khan says all are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas.

Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza as Israel tries to hunt them down. But Haniyeh, the supreme leader of the Islamic militant group, is based in Qatar and frequently travels across the region.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s foreign minister says the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is “a historic disgrace that will be remembered forever.”

Israel Katz said Monday that he would form a special committee to fight back against any such action and would work with world leaders to ensure that any such warrants are not enforced.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he's seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas.

Karim Khan said that he believes Netanyahu, his defense minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders — Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

The prosecutor must request the warrants from a pre-trial panel of three judges, who take on average two months to consider the evidence and determine if the proceedings can move forward.

Israel is not a member of the court, and even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But Khan’s announcement deepens Israel’s isolation as it presses ahead with its war, and the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.

Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza as Israel tries to hunt them down. But Haniyeh, the supreme leader of the Islamic militant group, is based in Qatar and frequently travels across the region.

There was no immediate comment from either side.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the military would expand its operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in talks Monday with a U.S. envoy.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Monday with Gallant and the Israeli military leadership in Tel Aviv. Sullivan’s visit comes two weeks into the military’s foray into Rafah, where troops have been battling Hamas fighters and escalating bombardment.

The Biden administration has opposed a full-fledged invasion of Rafah because of fears for the civilian population. So far Israeli forces have mainly been operating in eastern parts of the city, but the fighting has already triggered an exodus of more than 810,000 Palestinians, according to the U.N.

“I emphasized to him (Sullivan) Israel’s duty to expand the ground operation in Rafah, to dismantle Hamas and to return the hostages,” Gallant said in a post on X.

In his visit, Sullivan was also discussing postwar plans for Gaza at a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces criticism from the other members of his War Cabinet. Netanyahu’s main political rival Benny Gantz has threatened to leave the government if a plan is not created by June 8 that includes an international administration for postwar Gaza.

On Sunday, Sullivan held talks with Netanyahu to discuss an ambitious U.S. plan for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel and help the Palestinian Authority govern Gaza in exchange for a path to eventual statehood. Netanyahu has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state.

Sullivan met Monday with Gantz, whose office said the two discussed “prospects for advancing normalization with Saudi Arabia.”

PHILADELPHIA — Pro-Palestinian protesters at Drexel University ignored a request to take down their encampment on Monday as arrests linked to U.S. campus demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war surpassed the 3,000 mark nationwide.

Drexel’s campus remained on lockdown, with classes being held virtually as police kept watch over the demonstration on the school’s Korman Quad. Many Drexel employees were told to work from home.

In a statement issued a day earlier, Drexel President John Fry said as many as 60 protesters were at the encampment, which he decried as “intolerably disruptive to normal university operations.” He said there were “serious concerns about the conduct of some participants, including distressing reports and images" of protesters using antisemitic speech. Fry threatened disciplinary action against Drexel students participating in the protest.

More than 3,000 people have been arrested on U.S. campuses over the past month. Campuses have been calmer recently, with fewer arrests, as students leave for summer break. Still, colleges have been vigilant for disruptions to commencement ceremonies.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders amid extraordinary tensions gripping the wider Middle East.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in the Shiite theocracy, quickly named a little-known vice president as caretaker and insisted the government was in control, but the deaths mark yet another blow to a country beset by pressures both at home and abroad.

Iran has offered no cause for the crash nor suggested sabotage brought down the helicopter, which fell in mountainous terrain in a sudden, intense fog.

In Tehran, Iran’s capital, businesses were open and children attended school Monday. However, there was a noticeable presence of both uniformed and plainclothes security forces downtown.

DAMASCUS, Syria — Suspected Israeli airstrikes on Monday killed several people in the vicinity of the city of Homs in central Syria, according to pro-government news media and a war monitor.

Four people died and four others were wounded, the pro-government Al-Watan newspaper reported. The U.K.-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes killed at least six members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. There was no official confirmation of the strikes.

The observatory said the strikes hit next to a gas station south of Homs, in an area used by pro-Iranian militias, and at a Hezbollah site next to a school southwest of Homs, near the Syrian-Lebanese border. It said the strikes were the 40th time Israel had hit inside of Syria since the beginning of the year.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges them. When it does, it has said that it is seeking to stop Iran from expanding its foothold in Syria.

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem on Monday, May 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

FILE - Exterior view of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said Monday, May 20, 2024, that he’s seeking arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders in connection with their actions during the seven-month war. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press briefing after his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Haniyeh is one of the three Hamas leaders believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pauses while making a brief statement to the media with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, at The Kirya, Israel's Ministry of Defense, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Tel Aviv. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday, May 20, 2024, he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu, his defense minister Gallant, and three Hamas leaders, are believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)

Ricarda Louk, writes on the flag-covered coffin of her daughter Shani Louk during her funeral in Srigim, Israel, on Sunday, May 19, 2024. Louk, a 22-year-old German-Israeli, was killed while fleeing a music festival during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack and her body was taken into Gaza. Israeli forces recovered her remains last week along with those of three other Israelis killed during the attack, which ignited the war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Palestinians are waiting for aid trucks to cross in central Gaza Strip on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)