Shafaq News/ US President Joe Biden called the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant "outrageous."

"Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence -- none -- between Israel and Hamas," Biden said in a statement, criticizing the court for equating Israel's actions with those of Hamas, in a reference to the October 7 Hamas operation that followed intensified Israeli actions against Palestinians and prompted Israel to launch a major offensive on Gaza, killing about 44,000 people, mostly women and children.

Biden further expressed his support for Israel, saying, "We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

In turn, Mike Waltz, set to become the national security advisor under US president-elect Donald Trump, defended Israel and vowed 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 wrote on X.

On Thursday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in connection with "alleged war crimes" in Gaza.

The ICC stated there are "reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant oversaw attacks on civilians, with alleged war crimes including “starvation, killing, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”