Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in hospital for 'assessments'

Leader was unwell but was fully conscious on the way to hospital, reports say

Israeli police outside the emergency entrance to Sheba Medical Centre where PM Benjamin Netanyahu was admitted. AFP

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was admitted to hospital on Saturday with dizziness and apparent dehydration, his office said.

Mr Netanyahu, 73, was taken to Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv, where he was said to be in good condition and tests were carried out.

His office later said he was “staying in hospital overnight for observation, upon his doctors' recommendation”.

The weekly cabinet meeting has been moved from Sunday to Monday.

“The prime minister arrived at the Sheba medical centre a short while ago,” Mr Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

“He is in good condition and undergoing medical evaluation.”

In a second statement, his office said Mr Netanyahu on Friday spent time in the heat of the Sea of Galilee, in Israel's north.

“Today, he felt slightly dizzy, and at the advice of his personal physician, Dr Zvi Berkowitz, was taken to Sheba's emergency department,” the statement said.

“The initial examinations showed normal findings,” it added. “The initial evaluation is dehydration.”

He will have a further series of medical tests, his office said.

“I wish the prime minister a full recovery and good health,” tweeted Yair Lapid, the centrist leader of the opposition.

The hospital is close to coastal Caesarea, where Mr Netanyahu has a private residence. Israeli television said he was there when he became unwell.

In October 2022, Mr Netanyahu fell ill during the fast of Yom Kippur and was also briefly admitted to hospital.

Israel's longest-serving leader, with a cumulative stretch of more than 15 years in power, returned to office last December at the head of a coalition of religious and ultranationalist parties.

He has been in the eye of a political storm over his plan to overhaul the judiciary, which has set off unprecedented demonstrations in Israel.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv and elsewhere on Saturday protesting reforms advanced by the coalition they say threaten the country's democratic character.