Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague today, demanding action to stop crimes against the Palestinian people, which they said amounted to genocide.

The ICC investigates allegations of heinous crimes allegedly committed by Hamas militants in Israel and the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip from 2014 to the present.

“We condemn the killings on both sides. However, when it comes to Gaza, the international community turns a blind eye,” said 50-year-old Rafat Alkayali, explaining that he participated in the rally because he has not lost faith in international law.

Many protesters held signs with slogans such as “Justice for Palestine – Stop the Genocide” and “How many children will die until Israel is prosecuted?”

The new cycle of violence in the Middle East began on October 7 when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched coordinated attacks on Israeli soil, killing an estimated 1,400 people and taking civilians and soldiers hostage in the Gaza Strip. Since then the Palestinian enclave has been under siege and pounded relentlessly by the Israeli army, with more than 3,400 dead.

Last week, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told Reuters news agency that the International Criminal Court is competent to investigate alleged crimes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even though the Jewish state has not signed the Rome Statute.