EDITED - Israel’s Netanyahu to undergo surgery for hernia

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to undergo surgery for a hernia on Sunday evening, according to his office.

In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said the premier will be under full anesthesia during the operation at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who is also a deputy prime minister, will fill Netanyahu’s role temporarily while the premier is under anesthesia, the statement said.

Netanyahu’s office said the hernia was discovered during a routine checkup on Saturday evening.

Netanyahu, 74, underwent surgery to have a pacemaker installed last year after he suffered a “transient heart block.”

The surgery comes as Israel continued its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas, which killed some 1,200 people.

Nearly 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,300 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked Israel to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

​​​​​​​*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala