The court’s pre-trial chamber also found “reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

The ICC also issued a warrant for Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’s armed wing, over the October 7 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

No 10 has refused to explicitly comment on “hypotheticals,” but said Britain would follow its “legal obligation,” which implies Mr Netanyahu would face arrest here.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed that it would comply with requirements under the International Criminal Court Act 2001, which states that the Secretary of State must, on receipt of a request for arrest from the ICC, “transmit the request and the documents accompanying it to an appropriate judicial officer.”

Number 10 would not specify which Cabinet minister would be responsible for doing so.

A domestic court process would be required before Mr Netanyahu faced arrest if he set foot in Britain.