Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for him and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, calling the ruling "anti-Semitic".
"Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions leveled against it by ICC," his office said in a statement, adding that Netanyahu won't "give in to pressure" in the defence of Israel's citizens.
The Hague-based court said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for starvation in Gaza and the persecution of Palestinians after Israel launched its attack on the coastal enclave following Hamas's October 7 onslaught on southern Israel.
There was no immediate comment from Gallant, who was sacked as defense minister earlier this month after Netanyahu said he had lost trust in him over the management of the ongoing military operations in both Gaza and Lebanon.
But in a rare show of unity, bitter Netanyahu foes joined forces with government allies to lambast the court for seeking the duo's arrest, saying blame for the war, which has devastated swathes of Gaza and left tens of thousands dead, lay with militant group Hamas.
The Israeli military attack, launched after a Hamas-led attack last October that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in the kidnapping of about 250 others, has caused widespread devastation in Gaza. According to Gaza's health authorities, more than 43,900 Palestinians have been killed in the over-year-long conflict.
