In a statement released on the ICC website, the office of the prosecutor, Karim Khan, based in The Hague, said it seeks to “engage constructively with all stakeholders whenever dialogue is consistent with its mandate.” Khan warned that “this independence and impartiality are however undermined when individuals threaten reprisals against the Court or its officials” in the event of decisions on investigations falling within its mandate. “Such threats, even if not carried out, may constitute an attempt to obstruct the administration of justice” by the ICC, the prosecutor said, calling for an immediate end to “any attempts to obstruct, intimidate or unduly influence its staff.” Khan’s office did not specify the origin of the threats or whether they were linked to Israel and the war in Gaza. The ICC opened an investigation in 2021 into Israel as well as the Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups over alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories. It recently extended the probe to “the escalation of hostilities and violence since 7 October 2023” when Hamas fired rockets into Israel. Israeli officials have told the New York Times they expect the ICC to issue arrest warrants for members of the government — potentially including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — over Israel’s military operations in Gaza in response to the Hamas rocket fire. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Wednesday that an indictment of Israeli officials by the ICC would represent “a danger to democracies.” Netanyahu has said that any arrest warrants would be aimed at “threatening Israel’s leaders and soldiers, essentially to paralyze Israel’s ability to defend itself.” The October 7 Hamas rocket fire killed 1,170 people and took some 250 hostage. Israel’s large-scale military response in Gaza left 34,622 dead, the vast majority of them civilians, according to the local health ministry, and plunged the territory into a severe humanitarian crisis. Read Also: “Using the International Criminal Court against Israel” threatens “democracies” (Portuguese version)