Hundreds of social media users have taken to the internet to apologise to prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney after learning that she is advising the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.

For months, Clooney, a British barrister of Lebanese and Palestinian descent, drew widespread criticism from commentators on social media who accused her of silence over Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

That changed on Monday after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he had filed an application for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif.

It soon emerged that Amal Clooney had played a role in the case.

Clooney co-authored a column with five other international lawyers in the Financial Times, which revealed that Khan “asked us to advise whether there was sufficient evidence to lay charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity".

Read more: Critics humbled as Amal Clooney's role in Israel-Hamas ICC arrest warrant request revealed