The Hague, January 17 (RHC)-- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched a preliminary investigation into Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip. In a statement on Friday, the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said she will conduct the examination in "full independence and impartiality."

Herman von Herbel, who serves as ICC registrar, confirmed on January 5th that the body has received documents from the Palestinian Authority declaring its acceptance of the body’s jurisdiction. The move paves the way for the ICC investigation of crimes by the Israeli regime, which is not a member of the court, committed during the recent war on Gaza.

When Palestine accedes to the Rome Statute, The Hague-based court would be able to prosecute Israeli officials for crimes they have committed over the past months in Gaza and the West Bank.

Israel’s war on Gaza, which ended in August 2014 through an Egyptian-brokered truce, killed over 2,140 Palestinians, including 577 children. Over 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people, were wounded.