The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the regime's former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the Gaza war.

The warrants put Netanyahu and Gallant at risk of arrest if they travel abroad.

The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, had requested the arrest warrants in May, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for causing mass starvation in Gaza that constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On Thursday the court said it had found reasonable grounds to believe that Deif was responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, torture, rape and hostage taking.

The US has welcomed ICC war crimes warrants against Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for atrocities committed in Ukraine, while denouncing the court’s pursuit of Netanyahu and Gallant, a mixed stance which has exposed the Biden administration to accusations of double standards from many UN members, particularly from the global south.

Some member states have ignored ICC warrants before, but Netanyahu and Gallant would nonetheless risk arrest if they traveled to any country which had signed the 1998 Rome statute.

“The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024”, a statement from the court said.

There are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Gallant and Netanyahu “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity”, the statement continued, covering only part of the allegations against them.

Khan had requested warrants for three Hamas leaders, two of whom have since been killed, for alleged war crimes relating to the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel in which fighters killed more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250.

The arrest warrant could increase the external pressure on Netanyahu’s government as the US seeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Joe Biden has said he does not believe Netanyahu is doing enough to secure a ceasefire, after the Israeli leader vowed not to compromise over Israeli control over strategic territory inside Gaza. Netanyahu has accused Hamas of failing to negotiate in good faith.