Israeli Hospital Says Netanyahu Has Undergone Successful Prostate Surgery

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. via Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent successful surgery Sunday to have his prostate removed, hospital officials said, a procedure that came as he manages multiple crises including the war in Gaza and his trial for alleged corruption. The lawyer, Amit Hadad, had argued that Netanyahu would be fully sedated for the procedure and hospitalized for “a number of days.” Dr. Ofer Gofrit, head of the urology department at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, said in a video statement late Sunday that the procedure had gone well and “there was no fear” of cancer or malignancy. Complications from prostate enlargement are common in men in their 70s and 80s, Dr. Shay Golan, head of the oncology urology service at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center, told Israeli Army Radio. In Netanyahu’s case, because the prostate is not cancerous, Golan said doctors were likely performing an endoscopic surgery, carried out by inserting small instruments into a body cavity, rather than making surgical cuts in the abdomen to reach the prostate.