Washington DC - The US "fundamentally rejects" a decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, the White House said Thursday.

"We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor's rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision. The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter," a National Security Council spokesperson said.

The statement made no mention of an ICC arrest warrant also issued for Mohammed Deif, the military chief of Hamas whom Israel claimed was killed in an air strike in Gaza in July.

Neither the US nor Israel is a member of the ICC, and both have rejected its jurisdiction.

Daily Horoscope Today's horoscope: Free daily horoscope for Wednesday, November 20, 2024

The Hague-based court said Thursday that the warrants were issued "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024" – including murder, persecution, intentionally attacking civilians, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war.

Any of the ICC's 124 national members are now legally required to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they set foot on their territory.

Mike Waltz, the incoming national security advisor under US President-elect Donald Trump's administration, defended Israel and promised a "strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January."

"The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US government," Waltz claimed on X.

Senator Lindsey Graham issued a statement via X, calling on President Biden and President-elect Trump to "forcefully against the ICC".

Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for November 19, 2024: The best jokes to laugh the day away

"I will be introducing legislation that puts other countries on notice – If you aid and abet the ICC after their action against the State of Israel, you can expect consequences from the United States," he wrote.

"Any nation that joins with the ICC after this outrage is a partner in a reckless act that tramples the rule of law."

Opening its doors in 2002, the ICC is the world's only independent court set up to probe the gravest offenses, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

It is a "court of last resort" and only steps in if countries are unwilling or unable to investigate cases themselves.

When the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russia's Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, Graham applauded the move as "an action of an international evidence-based body that will stand the test of history."