Netanyahu recovering from prostate surgery – media

The Israeli PM was set to appear in court last week to give testimony in his corruption trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is recovering following surgery, the Times of Israel has reported, citing a statement from his office.

Netanyahu, 75, was recently diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign enlargement of the prostate and reportedly underwent a prostatectomy on Sunday.

“The surgery ended successfully without complications,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, as quoted by the news outlet. “The prime minister has woken up, is in good condition and is completely conscious.”

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Netanyahu has been placed in a fortified underground hospital ward in Jerusalem amid fears he could be targeted by rocket or missile fire amid the ongoing war, noted the outlet.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli prime minister has reportedly been suffering from an enlarged prostate for over a decade, having undergone treatment in 2014. The covert procedures, only revealed to the public nearly a year after they began, involved nighttime hospital visits with elaborate disguises, including decoy vehicles made to look like a pita-bread delivery truck and a pest exterminator's van.

Netanyahu was scheduled to appear in court last week to provide testimony in his corruption trial, however the hearing was cancelled due to the surgery, according to Haaretz. No new date has been set yet.

The prime minister was charged with fraud, bribery, and breach of trust in three cases filed in 2019. The trial began in May 2020 but has suffered delays, first due to the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently because of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.

READ MORE: Netanyahu accuses Israeli media of ‘witch hunt’

Netanyahu has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that the indictments were part of a politically charged witch hunt aimed at removing him from office.