Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to hospital on Saturday after complaining of dizziness, his office said. The 73-year-old Netanyahu “is in good condition and undergoing a medical examination”, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement issued by his office.
“The preliminary assessment is dehydration,” the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv, where Netanyahu was being treated and the prime minister’s office said in a joint statement.
Israeli media quoted the medical Centre and his office as saying that Netanyahu had spent several hours in the sea in the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel on Friday and complained of mild dizziness before being admitted to the hospital on Saturday.
In the evening, Israel’s Channel 12 news aired a video statement of Netanyahu given at the Medical Centre, in which he said, “I feel great.” “Yesterday (Friday) I was in the Sea of Galilee with my wife, in the sun, without a hat, without water… It’s not a good idea,” he said.
On Wednesday, Israel’s Meteorological Service issued a warning of severe heat stress, saying rising temperatures would lead to “a risk of dehydration and heat stroke”, especially among the sick and elderly.
