The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor’s office has called for an end to what it called intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the world’s permanent war crimes court, Reuters reports.

In the statement posted on social media platform X, the ICC prosecutor’s office said all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials must cease immediately. It added that the Rome Statute, which outlines the ICC’s structure and areas of jurisdiction, prohibits these actions.

The statement, which named no specific cases, followed Israeli and American criticism of the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s military operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Neither Israel nor the US are members of the court and do not recognise its jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories.