A Palestinian runs for cover from teargas fired by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel, Friday.

The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court raised concerns yesterday that Israel and Hamas may have committed war crimes during a current flare-up of violence in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Fatou Bensouda’s office expressed "grave concern” over the shootings of Palestinians by Israeli troops during mass protests along Gaza’s border with Israel.

Her office said that Israel’s "violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza” may constitute war crimes. But in an apparent reference to Gaza’s Hamas rulers, she also said "the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities” could also be a war crime.

Bensouda is already in the midst of a "preliminary examination” of possible war crimes, launched in the wake of a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. That is the first step toward a formal war crimes investigation.

"While a preliminary examination is not an investigation, any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my office’s scrutiny,” she said. "This applies to the events of the past weeks and to any future incident.”-AP