Israel will submit an appeal against the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes, Netanyahu's office said Wednesday.
Netanyahu also said that U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham had updated him "on a series of measures he is promoting in the U.S. Congress against the International Criminal Court and against countries that would cooperate with it", Netanyahu said.
The ICC issued arrest warrants last Thursday for Netanyahu, his former defense chief, and Hamas military leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
"Israel today submitted a notice to the International Criminal Court of its intention to appeal to the court, along with a demand to delay the execution of the arrest warrants," Netanyahu said.
The warrant marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western country has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.
The ICC panel said there were reasonable grounds to believe that both Netanyahu and his ex-defense minister bear responsibility for the war crime of starvation and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
Israel's war has caused unprecedented destruction across Gaza, decimated parts of the territory and driven almost the entire population of 2.3 million people from their homes, leaving most dependent on aid to survive.
More than 13 months into the war, Israel has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities.
The conflict started after Hamas' cross-border attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people.
