An Italian judge has issued an international arrest warrant for the grandfather of the boy who survived a cable car crash, local media reported Wednesday, in an ongoing custody battle.

Padua judge Pasquale Villani issued the warrant for Shmulik Peleg, who is accused of illegally taking six-year-old Eitan Biran from Italy to Israel following the death of the child's parents, Italian media reported, without specifying when the warrant was signed.

Peleg, who is the boy's maternal grandfather, has appealed an October ruling by an Israeli court that he return Biran to his paternal aunt in Italy. 

The international battle for custody of Biran has garnered headlines in both countries after Italian prosecutors accused Peleg of kidnapping Biran, the sole survivor of an accident in May that killed 14 people, including his parents, younger brother and great-grandparents.

After recovering from severe injuries from the accident, Biran was released from hospital into the custody of his paternal aunt. 

Aya Biran, paternal aunt of Eitan Biran who was the sole survivor of a deadly cable car crash in Italy, arrives at the Justice Court in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv.

Also named on the arrest warrant is Israeli citizen Gabriel Alon Abutual, who prosecutors allege helped Peleg bring Biran back via a private plane to Israel, media reported. 

Padua prosecutors did not immediately return messages from AFP seeking confirmation. 

A hearing in the case has been scheduled for Thursday in Tel Aviv.