Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have surgery on Sunday to treat a hernia.
Netanyahu’s office announced the planned procedure Sunday afternoon. It said the 74-year-old prime minister would still continue with his planned schedule, which includes meeting with families of hostages and a war cabinet session, according to the Times of Israel.
Netanyahu also scheduled a press conference in Jerusalem ahead of the surgery.
According to the prime minister’s office, doctors discovered the hernia Saturday during a routine checkup. He will be under full anesthesia for the surgery and Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin will temporarily fulfill Netanyahu’s duties while he’s under.
Netanyahu previously underwent hernia surgery in 2013. The longtime Israeli leader has a history of hiding his health problems.
Last year, Netanyahu had surgery to implant a pacemaker in his heart. Prior to the surgery, doctors had described his heart as “completely normal” and said the prime minister was under “regular monitoring.”
But after the surgery doctors admitted that for years Netanyahu had battled a condition that can cause irregular heartbeats. Government critic Yossi Verter said the belated revelation showed “more than anything the culture of deceit in which Netanyahu, his ministers and advisers run the country.”
The pacemaker surgery also came during a turbulent time in Israeli politics, when Netanyahu was under fire for altering the country’s judicial system.
More recently, Netanyahu has faced significant international criticism for Israel’s brutal war against Hamas in Gaza. Israeli forces have killed more than 30,000 Palestinians in the territory of 2.3 million people.
Netanyahu, however, has remained defiant throughout the conflict and his most important ally, the United States, has largely backed him.
With News Wire Services
