ISTANBUL

International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appeared as “a glimmer of hope”, according to a French Muslim body.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) said the situation in the Gaza Strip accompanied by explicit statements by Israeli ministers and officials "bluntly asserting their genocidal intentions, illustrates a tragic escalation in barbarity and impunity."

The ICC's arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity "appeared as a glimmer of hope," the CFCM said in a statement on Saturday.

"A fragile promise of justice and peace in the darkness imposed on Gaza," it added.

The non-profit group also criticized French media and politics as they continue to defend Netanyahu "at all costs, even if it means sacrificing what remains of international law."

The ICC announced in a landmark move on Thursday that it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.

It has also engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets. Over 3,600 people have been killed, with more than 15,300 injured and over a million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.