Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and former Israeli minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant (file photo)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has refused Israel`s appeal to rescind arrest warrants for the regime`s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, holding them responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

In a statement released on Friday, the ICC said Israel`s request to appeal the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant over the Gaza genocide is "not an appealable issue."

In a ruling that drew worldwide attention in November last year, the ICC found "reasonable grounds" to conclude that Netanyahu and Gallant bear "criminal responsibility" for systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Netanyahu denounced the ruling as an "anti-Semitic decision."

Israel asked the court in May to dismiss the warrants while pursuing a separate challenge over whether the ICC had jurisdiction in the case. The court rejected that request on July 16, stating there was "no legal basis" to quash the warrants while the jurisdiction issue was pending.

A week later, Israel sought permission to appeal the July ruling, but ICC judges dismissed the bid in a 13-page ruling, declaring that "the Chamber rejects the request."

The court continues to consider the Israeli regime`s broader challenge to its authority in the Gaza genocide case.

When the arrest warrants were first issued in November, the court simultaneously dismissed an earlier Israeli objection to its jurisdiction.

However, in April, the ICC`s appeals chamber ruled that the pre-trial chamber had erred in rejecting Israel`s challenge and ordered a more detailed review. A final ruling on jurisdiction has yet to be issued.

Since Israel launched its genocidal campaign on Gaza on October 7, 2023, approximately 68,000 Palestinians, including 20,000 children, have been killed and over 170,000 wounded.

Even after the ceasefire between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and the regime, casualties continue to rise as more bodies are recovered from the rubble.

Experts warn the true death toll could reach hundreds of thousands once those missing or buried beneath Gaza`s ruins are accounted for.