Around 100 representatives of family members of the kidnapped flew to the Netherlands on Wednesday to file an official complaint against Hamas and its leadership at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Transported by El Al, family members of the captives held by Hamas and other terror organizations in Gaza following the October 7 massacre have departed to file their suit at the ICC. Family members noted that heading to the court was a critical step in bringing their loved ones home, not only as Israelis but as world citizens.
Ofri Bibas, the sister of Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped with her two children Ariel and Kfir, the two youngest hostages, said: "This is not just our story—if we do not stop this, tomorrow it will become the story of the entire world.”
”Two children, one an infant and his older brother, still innocent of the world’s evils, along with their parents, are held captive by a terror organization whose members have killed, blinded, and committed unspeakable acts, and it doesn’t end there… We continue to receive numerous reports that these cruel acts are still happening today," Bibas added.
Family members emphasize importance of bringing case to ICC
Other family representatives, from family members to romantic partners, stood at the gateway to the flight and shared reasons why they felt they needed to take their case against Hamas, and the devastating toll it has taken on them.
"On October 7, I suffered a devastating blow, one that I likely will never fully recover from," Ziv Abud, the girlfriend of Eliya Cohen said at the briefing.
"Today, I am here, flying to The Hague with the delegation, to file a complaint against the leaders of Hamas. Having experienced horrors, lost my loved ones, and with my partner still in the clutches of Hamas, I expect that this complaint, and the subsequent legal action, will bring personal justice for each family of the hostages, the bereaved families, those with broken hearts and spirits, and also global justice, clearly demonstrating that we are dealing with a sadistic and cruel terrorist organization," she said.
"Hope dies last," Inbar Goldstein, the sister of Nadav Goldstein said."We are traveling to ensure we are not just witnesses to history as it unfolds but that we are actively writing it, in practice, by ourselves and in our own words."
Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognise its jurisdiction. But prosecutor Karim Khan has said his court had jurisdiction over any potential war crimes carried out by Hamas in Israel and by Israelis in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli group will file the latest in several so-called article 15 communications on behalf of Israeli victims.
These legal filings are meant to provide information to the prosecution and are part of a wider push to get the ICC to act against Hamas leaders.
In a sign that the ICC's investigation into Oct. 7 is moving forward, lawyer Yael Vias Gvirsman, who represents another group of Israeli victims, told Reuters that a handful of her clients gave testimony directly to ICC investigators in The Hague last week.
"It was a significant next step for the investigation. Investigators sat down with victims for very long hours to hear personal accounts by key witnesses of several crime scenes of the Oct. 7 attacks," said Vias Gvirsman, who represents 200 Israeli victims from 42 different families at the ICC.
Reuters contributed to this report. This is a developing story.