BUENOS AIRES (AFP) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) decision Thursday to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister “ignores” the country’s right to defend itself, Argentina’s leader said.

Argentina “declares its deep disagreement” with the decision, which “ignores Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense against the constant attacks by terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah,” President Javier Milei said in a statement on the X social media network.

The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif “for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.”

Hamas militants conducted a stunning cross-border raid on Israel on 7 October last year that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel has since then been fighting a war in Gaza, which the militant group rules.

The Hamas government’s health ministry in the Gaza Strip said Thursday at least 44,056 people had been killed in more than 13 months of war.

The United Nations considers the figures reliable.