Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has hit back at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after he called Netanyahu a "war criminal" and said his administration was examining whether it could arrest him during any visit to the city. Netanyahu's office accused Mamdani of attacking Israel to deflect attention from his record running New York, escalating a public dispute between the two officials.

The row stems from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu, which Mamdani indicated he would seek to enforce, calling it valid, while Netanyahu's office dismissed it as bogus. Mamdani made the "war criminal" remark in a New York Times interview, and the exchange has drawn wider commentary, including from an activist quoted as saying Mamdani knows he is "bluffing" on any arrest.