The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, the court said on Thursday.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, the court said on Thursday.

In their decision to grant the warrants, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for starvation in Gaza and the persecution of Palestinians.

The warrant for Al-Masri lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, including rape and the taking of hostages. The prosecution indicated it would continue to gather information with respect to his reported death.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20 that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the Israeli military response in Gaza.

Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza. Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.

Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the ICC's decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a "mark of shame" for the court. Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid also denounced the court's move, calling it "a reward for terrorism".

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu or Gallant.

Israeli and Hamas leaders have dismissed allegations that they committed war crimes.

The court does not have its own police force to carry out arrests and relies on its member states for that. ICC members include all European Union countries, Britain, Japan, Brazil, Australia and Canada, and in the Middle East region the Palestinian territories and Jordan.

The ICC said Israel's acceptance of the court's jurisdiction was not required.

Israeli politicians reject ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu:

"Israel is not a member of the I.C.C. and does not recognize its jurisdiction in Israel or in Gaza, so Netanyahu and Gallant will not face any risk of arrest at home. But the warrants mean that they could be arrested if they travel to one of the court’s 124 member nations. That includes most European countries, though not the United States."

Benny Gantz, an Israeli opposition leader and critic of Netanyahu, slammed the warrants as “a historic disgrace that will never be forgotten.” Many in Israel still see the war in Gaza — launched last year in response to Hamas’s attack on southern Israel — as fundamentally just. While Netanyahu’s opponents have criticized his government’s failure to bring home the hostages taken by Hamas in that attack, there is less criticism over the civilian toll in Gaza.

Israeli leaders criticized the decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. “The decision has chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom,” said Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, accusing the court of turning “the very system of justice into a human shield for Hamas’s crimes against humanity.” Itamar Ben-Gvir, the hardline Israeli national security minister, said Israel should annex the occupied West Bank in response to the court’s decision.

The I.C.C.’s arrest warrants were issued as Netanyahu met with a top U.S. official pushing for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The warrants pertained only to Israel’s fight with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but the conflict has expanded since they were first requested in May.

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