The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s office has requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes, Reuters reports.

Here are some reactions to the decision:

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the decision, “equates the victim with the executioner” and encourages Israel to continue its “war of extermination” in Gaza.

Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz said, “Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organisation (Hamas) is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy.”

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called the decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant “a disaster”.

Israeli finance minister Bezazel Smotrich called the decision a “show of hypocrisy and Jew-hatred”. “Arrest warrants against them are arrest warrants against us all,” he added.

Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s Executive Committee, said, “The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves … The ICC is required to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials who are pursuing crimes of genocide in the Gaza Strip.”