Washington DC - The White House on Tuesday welcomed Israel's former defense minister Yoav Gallant, who has an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant out on his name.

"I have just completed an important meeting at the White House with the President’s Special Envoy, Brett McGurk. Our discussion focused on the tangible possibility of a breakthrough on the hostage issue in the near future," Gallant posted on X on Tuesday.

The meeting came just weeks after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gallant and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The White House has rejected the accusations and continues to provide Israel with diplomatic cover and a steady supply of deadly weapons, which are being used to kill Palestinians en masse.

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Video footage circulating on social media shows a protester yelling at the Israeli official as he exits a vehicle in Washington.

"Gallant, you are a war criminal! How dare you be in this country when the ICC has you out for an arrest!" the activist screams.

"You have the blood of thousands of Palestinians on your hands. You are a murderer! You are a genocidal murderer!"

On Monday night, Gallant's planned speaking event at a Washington DC synagogue was canceled after members raised objections. The move followed demonstrations outside Gallant's New York City hotel last week.

The former military chief is accused of playing a critical role in Israel's US-backed genocide in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of at least 44,805 Palestinians since October 2023, according to the territory's health ministry. The British medical journal Lancet and other experts believe the true number to be far greater, upwards of 186,000 as of July 2024.