Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will undergo surgery to repair a hernia on Sunday night, the prime minister's office announced.
The operation comes amid increasing international pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate a ceasefire and end the war in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced on Sunday that he was diagnosed with a hernia during a “routine checkup” the night before. The prime minister's office said in a statement that the prime minister decided to undergo the surgery in consultation with his doctors, adding that the operation would be carried out “under full anesthesia” on Sunday evening.
“Minister of Justice Yariv Levin will temporarily take over his duties,” the statement said. Mr. Levin is a long-time stalwart of the prime minister's Likud party.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who underwent hernia surgery in 2013, has come under growing criticism both on the world stage and at home over the way Israel is waging its war in the Gaza Strip. Key allies such as the United States have criticized the high civilian death toll and are urgently calling on Israel to allow more aid to the enclave.
In Israel, demonstrators are demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prioritize the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and agree to a ceasefire.
Prime Minister Netanyahu also faced harsh criticism from his far-right coalition partners over signs of reluctance to go to war with Hamas and expand Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Hours before the scheduled surgery, Prime Minister Netanyahu met with families of soldiers captured in Gaza in Jerusalem.
At an evening press conference, he also appeared pale in response to criticism that he was not doing enough to bring the hostages home.
“I have done everything in my power to secure the release of the hostages, and I will continue to do everything in my power,” he said. They are wrong and misleading,” he added.
Netanyahu, who answered questions for nearly 20 minutes, also reiterated that Israeli forces would move into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million people have fled. American officials said an invasion of Rafah would cause a humanitarian disaster and that Israel needed to develop detailed plans to protect, evacuate and feed Rafah's civilian population.
“We are currently addressing the issue of evacuation of civilians and provision of humanitarian assistance,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said. “It is necessary and essential, and it will happen.”
