The decision of Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, to publicly seek arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and Israel this week will be one of the most significant and contentious of his career.

Khan accused three Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and hostage taking. He also accused Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its defense minister, Yoav Gallant, of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s military operation in Gaza, including the starvation of civilians. Now a three-judge panel will consider whether to issue the warrants.

Some countries welcomed the news as a sign that all individuals, regardless of their state or status, are equal before the law, while others — including the United States, Israel’s most important ally — denounced the charges and accused Khan of false equivalence in pursuing warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders at the same time.

Khan didn’t have to announce the warrant applications publicly. He could have waited until they were granted, as with the warrant for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last year — a process that can take weeks or months.

So why did he go public now and with such fanfare — issuing not only a news release, but also a social media videos and a prerecorded interview with CNN?

The answer lies partly in the extraordinarily polarizing nature of this conflict, in which any legal intervention would be subject to deep scrutiny. It’s also about what the prosecutor’s office hopes to achieve as military action continues in Gaza, famine looms and hostages remain in captivity.