The Foreign Ministry did not say outright that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel would be free to travel to France, but it argued that an I.C.C. rule on immunity may apply to him.

France said on Wednesday it believed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had immunity to actions by the International Criminal Court which is seeking his arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza, given Israel has not signed up to the court statutes.

A separate press release announced that an arrest warrant had also been issued for Muhammad Deif, Hamas' military chief, for crimes against humanity over his role in planning and executing the Oct. 7 attack and hostage-taking in southern Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces said in August that it had killed him in an airstrike.