“Earlier in the day, Mr Gallant described the request for an arrest warrant against him as “despicable and disgusting”.
The reaction from Israel’s allies in the West has been mixed, with some saying that any ruling made by the ICC should be respected, while others have expressed dismay at the fact that Israeli officials were listed on the same charge sheet as Hamas leaders.
On a trip to Austria, Rishi Sunak called the application for an arrest warrant “deeply unhelpful”, while communities minister Michael Gove said it was “wrong to project moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”
“There is a difference between a state attempting to defend its own citizens and a terrorist organisation… There can be no equivalence between them,” he said in a speech on antisemitism.
On Monday, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, ICC prosecutor, said he had applied for arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant for crimes including “wilful killing”, “extermination and/or murder”, and “starvation” during the invasion of Gaza.
Mr Khan also said the leaders of Hamas, including Qatar-based Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, its Gaza head, “bear criminal responsibility” for actions committed during October 7.
These included “taking hostages”, “rape and other acts of sexual violence”, and “torture”.