The United States on Thursday firmly rejected the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council criticized the move, citing procedural flaws and questioning the speed of the ICC Prosecutor’s actions. “The United States fundamentally rejects the Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” the spokesperson told Reuters.

The arrest warrants, made public on Thursday, accuse Netanyahu and Gallant of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Israel’s military operations in Gaza from October 8, 2023, to May 20, 2024. The ICC claims the decision to disclose the warrants, initially secret, aims to protect witnesses, maintain the investigation’s integrity, and inform victims.

Israel has dismissed the ICC’s jurisdiction, with both Netanyahu and Gallant denying the accusations. Netanyahu called the warrants “anti-Semitic,” reflecting broader Israeli criticism of the ICC’s actions.

The conflict that sparked the ICC’s investigations began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a large-scale assault on Israel, killing over 1,200 civilians. Israel’s subsequent military operations in Gaza resulted in over 44,000 reported deaths, as per Gaza’s health ministry.

The ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, cited ongoing violations in Gaza as grounds for the warrants. The Court also confirmed a warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, while an earlier warrant request for Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was dropped following his death in Tehran in July.

The U.S. government is consulting with allies on potential responses to the ICC’s controversial actions.