Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, underwent surgery for a hernia and is reported to be in “excellent” health, according to a statement from Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. The surgery was successful, and Netanyahu is awake, alert, and talking to his family, according to Alon Pikarsky, the hospital’s director of general surgery.
Netanyahu was diagnosed with a hernia during a routine examination and underwent the procedure under anesthesia. The surgery occurred during a time when Israel was at war with Hamas in Gaza, and Netanyahu’s duties were temporarily assumed by the deputy prime minister and justice minister, Yariv Levin. Despite the surgery, Netanyahu expressed optimism about its outcome and stated that he would return to work quickly.
This surgery marked Netanyahu’s second since returning to the premiership in late 2022. In the past, he had another hernia surgery in 2013. A hernia is a condition where a gap in the abdominal wall allows internal organs to protrude outward as explained by Johns Hopkins Medicine. The Israeli leader had another health scare last summer that resulted in a pacemaker being fitted to address a heart blockage.
