IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz on Thursday expressed disappointment at the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) application to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and pursue war-crimes charges against Israel, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

Gantz, who is visiting the United States, said that the IDF works hard to prevent civilian casualties while still defending the country.

He called the possible charges an unnecessary, unilateral step and said Israel has the ability to investigate incidents when needed.

Gantz was speaking to reporters after a Pentagon meeting with Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The PA formally presented a request to the United Nations last Friday to join the ICC, in a move firmly opposed by both Israel and the United States.

On Tuesday, the United Nations accepted the request, saying that “Palestine” will become a member of the ICC as of April 1.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki reiterated on Wednesday that Washington opposes the move, noting the PA is not eligible to join the ICC because the U.S. “does not believe that the state of Palestine qualifies as a sovereign state”.

Dempsey, with whom Gantz met on Thursday, has said in the past that Israel went to "extraordinary lengths" to limit civilian casualties during the fighting in Gaza last summer.

"I actually do think that Israel went to extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties," he said.

"In this kind of conflict, where you are held to a standard that your enemy is not held to, you're going to be criticized for civilian casualties," he added in comments in November.

Dempsey said Hamas had turned Gaza into "very nearly a subterranean society" with tunneling throughout the coastal enclave.

"That caused the IDF some significant challenges. But they did some extraordinary things to try and limit civilian casualties, to include ... making it known that they were going to destroy a particular structure," he noted.