Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he was recently diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer, and has since made a full recovery.
Netanyahu’s announcement on X came the same day that his annual medical report was released to the public. The Prime Minister said that he “requested to delay its publication by two months so that it would not be released at the height of the war, in order not to allow the Iranian terror regime to spread even more false propaganda against Israel.” The U.S. and Iran are in the midst of a tenuous ceasefire, backed by Israel, in the war that began with Israeli and American forces striking Iran on Feb. 28. Israel and Lebanon also reached—and extended—a temporary ceasefire deal after weeks of Israeli attacks targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah amid the conflict.
Netanyahu, 76, said on Friday he wanted to share that he is healthy and “in excellent physical condition,” but that he “had a minor medical issue with my prostate that was completely treated.”
“A year and a half ago, I underwent successful surgery for an enlarged benign prostate, and since then I have been under routine medical monitoring,” Netanyahu said. “In the last monitoring, a tiny spot of less than a centimeter was discovered in the prostate. Upon examination, it turned out to be a very early stage of a malignant tumor, with no spread or metastases whatsoever.”
His doctors told him that he had two options, he said: not undergo treatment but continue monitoring the spot, or undergo treatment.
“You already know me,” Netanyahu said. “When I’m given information in time about a potential danger, I want to address it immediately. This is true on the national level and also on the personal level. That’s what I did.”
The Prime Minister said he “underwent targeted treatment that removed the problem and left no trace of it.” He thanked his doctors and medical team, and urged his constituents to “take care of your health.”
“The spot disappeared completely,” he said. “Thank God, I overcame this too.”
The post Netanyahu Says He Underwent Treatment For Prostate Cancer appeared first on TIME.
