ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan was warned he and the court would be “destroyed” if arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant were not withdrawn, Al Jazeera reports.

The warning allegedly came from British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman during a May meeting in The Hague. Kaufman, linked to a Netanyahu adviser, reportedly urged Khan to classify the warrants as confidential, allowing Israel to challenge them privately.

Khan and his wife, also an ICC lawyer, viewed the remarks as a threat. Kaufman denies representing the Israeli government. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

The ICC issued the warrants in 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to Al Jazeera.