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STORY: :: Biden says Israeli forces are not committing genocide in their campaign against Hamas :: “Contrary to allegations against Israel made by the International Court of Justice, what's happening is not genocide. We reject that and we'll always stand with Israel and the threats against its security." :: May 20, 2024 :: Washington, D.C. :: The US President spoke at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House :: "We stand with Israel to take out Sinwar and the rest of the butchers of Hamas. We want Hamas defeated. We'll work with Israel to make that happen and consistent with Jewish values and compassion, kindness and dignity and human life. My team also is providing critical humanitarian assistance to help innocent Palestinian civilians who are suffering greatly because of the war Hamas has unleashed." In remarks at the White House event, Biden stressed his belief that Israel was the victim dating back to the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people and took hundreds of hostages. He said U.S. support for the safety and security of Israelis is "ironclad." Negotiations have stalled between Israel and Hamas in trying to gain the freedom of sick, elderly and wounded hostages still held by the militants, but Biden vowed not to give up trying to gain their release.

President Biden sharply criticized the request for a war crimes arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with the leaders of Hamas. The president called the move by the International Criminal Court "outrageous," saying there's no equivalence between Israel and the militant group. Imtiaz Tyab has details.

STORY: The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense chief Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement on Monday that he had reasonable grounds to believe that all "bear criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Hamas leaders' arrest warrants were for the group's chief Yahya Sinwar; Mohammed Al-Masri, the commander-in-chief of its military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, head of its Political Bureau. "Those who do not comply with the law should not complain later when my office takes action based on solid evidence. That day has come. Today, we underline in the clearest possible fashion that international law and the laws of armed conflict apply to everyone. No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader - no one - can act with impunity." Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said accepting the ICC prosecutors' decision, quote, "would harm the ability of any country to defend its citizens and will constitute a crime of historic proportion." Gallant and Netanyahu have overseen Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group's deadly October 7 raid on Israel. Some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage in the rampage, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to the enclave's health ministry. And aid agencies have also warned of widespread hunger, a risk of famine, and dire shortages of fuel and medical supplies. Israeli and Palestinian leaders have both previously dismissed allegations of committing war crimes. Khan said evidence collected by his office showed Israel had systematically deprived civilians of "objects indispensable to human survival," including restricting food, water, medicine and energy. Netanyahu and Gallant bore responsibility, he said, for Israel wilfully causing great suffering and for killing as a war crime. The Hamas leaders face allegations of bearing responsibility for crimes committed by the militant group, including extermination and murder, the taking of hostages, torture, rape and other acts of sexual violence. It will now be up to a panel of pre-trial judges to determine whether the evidence from the ICC prosecutors' office supports the issuing of arrest warrants. The ICC's 124 member states are obliged to immediately arrest the wanted person if they are on a member state's territory. However, it has no means to enforce arrest warrants - and its investigation into the Gaza war has been opposed by the United States and Israel, neither of whom are members of the ICC.

STORY: :: The Hague, the Netherlands :: May 20, 2024 Karim Khan, ICC prosecutor "I can also confirm today that I have reasonable grounds to believe, on the basis of evidence collected and examined by my office, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant bear criminal responsibility for the following international crimes committed on the territory of the state of Palestine from at least the 8th of October 2023. The crimes include starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, wilfully causing great suffering, serious injury to body or health, or cruel treatment, wilful killing or murder and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population; as well as crimes against humanity of extermination and/or murder, persecution and allegation of crimes committing other inhumane acts." "I have reasonable grounds to believe the three senior leaders of Hamas - Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab (Al-Masri) and Ismail Haniyeh - bear criminal responsibility for the following international crimes committed on the territory of Israel and the state of Palestine from at least the 7th of October 2023: extermination as a crime against humanity, murder as a crime against humanity and as a war crime, the taking of hostages as a war crime, rape and other acts of sexual violence during captivity as crimes against humanity and as war crimes, torture during captivity as a crime against humanity and as a war crime, other inhumane acts during captivity as a crime against humanity, cruel treatment during captivity as a warcrime, and outrageous upon personal dignity during captivity as a war crime." Prosecutor Karim Khan's office said it suspected all five - Netanyahu, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh - bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Israel or the Gaza Strip. Israel has denied committing war crimes in the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7. The ICC's decision "equates the victim with the executioner," a senior Hamas official told Reuters. It will be up to the court's pre-trial judges to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to issue warrants.

STORY: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday. The charred wreckage of the aircraft was found early on Monday after an overnight search. Raisi's death was confirmed by Iran's vice president on X, and on state television. A senior Iranian official told Reuters "President Raisi, the foreign minister and all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash." Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the crash site in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday. Raisi had been at the Azerbaijani border to inaugurate a joint dam project. There has been no official word yet on the cause of the crash. State TV halted regular programming on Sunday to show prayers for Raisi being held across the country. The 63-year-old was elected president in 2021. Since taking office Raisi had ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers. Iran's dual political system is split between the clerical establishment and the government, and it is the supreme leader rather than the president who has the final say on all major policies. But for years many have seen Raisi as a strong contender to succeed his 85-year-old mentor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has strongly endorsed Raisi's main policies. “I mean, I think a lot of people might celebrate or might be happy, but also a lot of people, I think naturally would be very worried as to, you know, the potential political instability and what it could have.” A contest to replace Raisi may already be in the works, according to Arash Azizi, an Iran political analyst at the Center for Middle East and Global Order. “We all expected a ferocious struggle for power to begin after Khamenei dies. It might have already begun with this incident.” The crash comes as Iran faces pressure over its nuclear programme, its military ties to Russia, and its connections to Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza. Countries including China expressed concern over Raisi, while the White House said U.S. President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation.

This week on "Face the Nation," Margaret Brennan speaks to former Defense Secretary Robert Gates about the war between Israel and Hamas, campus protests in the U.S. and the ongoing congressional debate on providing aid to Ukraine. Plus, Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova joins.

All of them, Israel says, were killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.