Israeli PM Netanyahu to visit Hungary soon, Orban aide says

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will pay an official visit to Hungary in the next few weeks, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday, in defiance of an international arrest warrant for the Israeli leader.

Orban invited Netanyahu to visit Hungary last November, saying he would guarantee that an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, issued a day earlier over Israel's alleged war crimes abuses in Gaza, would "not be observed".

"According to current plans will arrive before Easter. Once the date of the visit is confirmed, we will, of course, announce it, taking into account the extremely important security considerations in this case," Gergely Gulyas told a news conference.

Easter Sunday falls on April 20 this year.

Several other European nations have said Netanyahu would be detained if he set foot on their soil.

All European Union member states, including Hungary, are members of the ICC, which means they are required to enforce its warrants. Orban, a right-wing nationalist, has often been at odds with the EU over democratic standards and human rights in Hungary.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on November 21, 2024 for Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as for Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

Hamas-led militants carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The raid triggered an Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

The fighting in Gaza has been paused since January 19 under the first phase of a truce. Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

(Reporting by Anita Komuves; Editing by Gareth Jones)