Gaza Strip residents criticised the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s decision to seek the arrest of Hamas leaders, saying it falsely equated them with the Israeli leaders “waging war” in the Palestinian enclave since October, Reuters reports.

“The world is unjust, they see with one eye. How come they equate between us and the occupation?” said Um Samed, a mother of six displaced by the war between different neighbourhoods of Gaza City.

“Did Hamas use planes to bomb Tel Aviv? Did they kill 35,000 people and still thousands more are missing? This is insane,” she told Reuters on a messaging app.

Another resident of Gaza City, 25-year-old Mohammad Farouq, said it was “a joke” that the ICC had requested a warrant against Deif alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.