Israel slams non-existent ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

Israel has slammed an International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, despite the tribunal having yet to make any moves.

The statement on the foreign ministry's website, since removed, comes after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May requested warrants for the pair, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh – who was later assassinated in Iran.

In a legal filing made public last week, Khan said "the prosecution respectfully requests that the chamber issue its decisions on the applications for warrants of arrest against" Sinwar, Deif, Netanyahu, and Gallant "with utmost urgency".

An Israeli foreign ministry official said there had been a human error, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Sunday.

The official said the ministry was readying for the potential that warrants are approved soon and so a statement was written up ahead of time.

Israel is not aware of whether or when the ICC will reveal its decision, according to the Haaretz report.

The New Arab contacted the ICC for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

Israel has been waging war on the Gaza Strip for more than 11 months in a campaign that has killed at least 41,226 people, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry.

Hospitals, places of worship, and residential buildings have been attacked, and South Africa has accused Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice, a tribunal separate from the ICC which considers disputes between states rather than cases against individuals.

News organisations The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call published an investigation in May that found for nine years, beginning in January 2015, Israel had "run [a]… secret 'war' against the" ICC.

"The country deployed its intelligence agencies to surveil, hack, pressure, smear and allegedly threaten senior ICC staff in an effort to derail the court's inquiries," The Guardian reported at the time.

Reuters contributed to this report.