Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will undergo prostate removal surgery, his office has said.
The 75-year-old, who had surgery for a hernia this year, was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign prostate enlargement.
He is expected to attend hospital on Sunday for the operation to be carried out.
Mr Netanyahu underwent a test at Hadassah Hospital on Wednesday, where he was ‘diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign prostate enlargement,’ the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
‘As a result, the prime minister will undergo prostate removal surgery tomorrow,’ it said.
It comes as the country’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip continues to rage more than 14 months after the Palestinian militants carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
In March, he underwent a hernia surgery, while in July last year doctors implanted a pacemaker in Netanyahu after a medical scare.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will undergo prostate removal surgery, his office has said
Prof. Alon Pikarski (right), the head of the surgical department at Hadassah Ein Kerem, performed the surgery
It comes as the country’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip continues to rage more than 14 months. Picture: A Palestinian boy inspects his destroyed family house following an Israeli air strike in March 2024
He previously underwent a hernia operation in 2013.
During that he was fully sedated and Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin stood in as Acting Prime Minister.
The war carrying on for over a year now, more than 45,400 Palestinians, over half of them women and children, have been killed and more than 108,000 others wounded, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Following his previous surgery, Prof. Alon Pikarski, the head of the surgical department at Hadassah Ein Kerem, performed the surgery, said in a short video statement that it went ‘as expected and was successful and the Prime Minister is awake, recovering and talking to his family.’
This happened as as protesters calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza stepped up pressure on his government nearly six months into the war with Hamas.
He had hit out at protesters’ calls for a new election around two years early, saying that it would only halt hostage negotiations and serve to help Hamas.
At the time he vowed to keep up the offensive until Hamas is destroyed and all of the hostages are freed.
In the footage Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus (circled), the Director-General of the WHO, can be seen relaxing in what appears to be a waiting room before all of a sudden he is rushed to his feet by his associates as they scramble to vacate the area
The video then cuts to show the moment the Israeli strike hits the control tower sending debris and smoke billowing into the air
This comes after Dramatic CCTV captured the moment the head of the World Health Organisation was rushed to safety after he was caught up in an Israeli strike at Yemen’s airport.
Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, has claimed he ‘narrowly escaped death’ following the aerial attack on Boxing Day which injured a member of his team and killed at least six people.
In the footage from the airport in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, Mr Ghebreyesus can be seen relaxing in what appears to be a waiting room before all of a sudden he is rushed to his feet by his associates as they scramble to vacate the area.
Linking arms with two men, the 59-year-old is rushed out of the room to safety.
The video then cuts to show the moment the Israeli strike hits the control tower sending debris and smoke billowing into the air.
Another angle shows a UN World Food Programme plane sitting stationary on the runway just seconds before the missile hits the control tower. Once the smoke has receded an injured person can be seen lying on the floor.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Ghebreyesus described the incident as ‘chaotic’ with people in ‘disarray and running everywhere’.
He said: ‘There was no shelter, so we were completely exposed. It’s a matter of luck, otherwise if the missile deviated just slightly it could have been on our heads.