Listen to the audio version of the article
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has been hospitalized in Tel Aviv for dehydration problems, apparently due to heat stroke. But, after two frantic hours, the 73-year-old prime minister appeared personally on television from the Sheba hospital to reassure everyone: “I feel very well,” he said, addressing the Israelis with a relaxed and smiling face. For a few hours of the sabbatical rest, however, the alarm was raised. Many media – citing sources close to the prime minister – reported “severe chest pains” and that Netanyahu had “lost consciousness” while in his private residence in Cesarea.
Before Netanyahu himself appeared on TV, a spokesman for his office had made it known that according to an initial assessment by the doctors, the premier’s illness was due to “dehydration” after a visit yesterday to Lake Tiberias in hours of intense heat. Followed today by a “slight dizziness”. Enough to convince his personal doctor to advise the premier to go to the emergency room in Tel Aviv.
Israel, Netanyahu taken to hospital after fainting
Netanyahu arrived at the hospital from Caesarea (about 50 kilometers from Tel Aviv) by car – and not by ambulance as rumors had initially circulated – accompanied by his entourage: with him his wife Sarah and son Avner. After entering on his legs, he was immediately subjected to visits and analyzes of the case which then revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Heat stroke due to dehydration.
«Thank you all for the concern, I feel very well. I was in the sun on Lake Tiberias without a hat and without water and it wasn’t a good idea – he later explained on TV -. I advise everyone not to expose themselves to the heat and to drink plenty of water». As some videos released by the media show, his son Avner has already left the hospital and this appears to be further proof of the premier’s current conditions.
In October last year, Netanyahu – who was then leader of the opposition – was taken to hospital in Jerusalem where he underwent tests but was released the following day. Numerous messages of solidarity reached the prime minister as soon as the news of the new hospitalization spread. Starting with the leader of the current opposition, former premier Yair Lapid. “I wish the prime minister – wrote Lapid on twitter – a complete recovery and good health. Is fine”. And in the evening, for the 28th consecutive week, the usual protests resumed in many places in Israel against judicial reform promoted by Netanyahu. In Tel Aviv, as always, the most impressive demonstration.