**WASHINGTON**
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may visit him as early as next week as Israel escalates its war on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Trump said he spoke by phone with Netanyahu on Thursday and that after the call, he believes the Israeli leader is "going to be coming to our country sometime in the not so distant future -- maybe next week.”
Netanyahu currently faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out by his forces in Gaza.
He visited Hungary on Thursday, marking the first time he has set foot on European soil since the ICC issued arrest warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last November.
Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu and hand him over to the ICC.
Hungary, however, chose to withdraw from the ICC. The US is also not a signatory.
The Israeli army issued evacuation warnings late Thursday to Palestinians in several Gaza City neighborhoods, directing them to leave immediately and move to the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The orders came after Israel broke a two-month ceasefire in March that had significantly reduced the bloodshed in Gaza.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X that residents of the Old City of Gaza and the neighborhoods of Al-Sabra, Tel al-Hawa and Western Zeitoun in Gaza City “must evacuate immediately and move to southern Gaza.”
According to the statement, the army issued a "prior and final warning before the attack," urging Palestinians to immediately relocate to shelter centers in the Al-Mawasi area.
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