The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) says he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over alleged war crimes.

ICC prosecutor Karim AA Khan KC has made applications for the arrest warrants, claiming he has reasonable grounds to believe Mr Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant bear responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israel-Gaza war.

Arrest warrants have also been sought for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Both Israel and Hamas have previously dismissed allegations of war crimes.

The prosecutor must request the warrants from a pre-trial panel of three judges, who take on average two months to consider the evidence and determine if the proceedings can move forward.

The allegations against Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant include bearing responsibility for starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, wilfully causing great suffering and wilful killing or murder as a war crime.

Speaking of the Israeli actions, Mr Khan said in a statement that "the effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known.

"They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children, and women."

Mr Netanyahu said the decision to seek an arrest warrant against him was absurd, and that the move was meant to target all of Israel.

"I reject with disgust the comparison of the prosecutor in the Hague between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas," Mr Netanyahu said.

"With what audacity do you compare Hamas that murdered, burned, butchered, decapitated, raped and kidnapped our brothers and sisters and the IDF soldiers fighting a just war?" 

The Hamas leaders face allegations of bearing responsibility for crimes including extermination and murder, the taking of hostages, torture, rape and other acts of sexual violence.

Of the Hamas actions in Israel on October 7, Karim Khan said that he saw for himself "the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unconscionable crimes charged in the applications filed today".

"Speaking with survivors, I heard how the love within a family, the deepest bonds between a parent and a child, were contorted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated cruelty and extreme callousness. These acts demand accountability," he said.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the decision "equates the victim with the executioner".

He also said the move encouraged Israel to continue its "war of extermination" in Gaza.

Israel is not a member of the court, and even if the arrest warrants are issued, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution.

US President Joe Biden said the seeking of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders was "outrageous".

"Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas," Mr Biden said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the move could jeopardise efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.

The announcement by the ICC's top prosecutor deepens Israel's isolation as it presses ahead with its war, and the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.

Both Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri are believed to be hiding in Gaza as Israel tries to hunt them down.

However Ismail Haniyeh — the supreme leader of Hamas — is based in Qatar and frequently travels across the region.

The ICC is the world's first permanent international war crimes court.

Its 124 member states are obliged to immediately arrest the wanted person on their territory, but the court has no means to enforce arrest warrants.

If arrest warrants are issued, it would severely curtail the ability of the leaders to travel outside of Israel and Qatar.