Netanyahu Says He Is Cancer-Free After Early Diagnosis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer but has since undergone treatment and is now cancer-free.

In an April 24 post to X, the Israeli leader said he delayed disclosing the diagnosis due to the possibility of it being used as propaganda during the conflict with Iran.

“I 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,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister said doctors caught the malignant tumor that was “less than a centimeter” at a “very early stage” and that had not spread “whatsoever.” 

He also said doctors informed him the issue is “very common among men my age.” Netanyahu was born in 1949 and is 76 years old.

He said he chose to have “targeted treatment” of the tumor.

“When I’m given information in time about a potential danger, I want to address it immediately,” he said.

“I went to a few short treatments, read a book, and continued working. The spot disappeared completely.”

The discovery of the tumor took place about 18 months after a “successful surgery” for an “enlarged benign prostate,” he said.

Netanyahu thanked the doctors who cared for him and spoke to his constituents, saying, “From you, citizens of Israel, I have only one request: Take care of your health. Get checked, and follow the doctors’ instructions.”

Netanyahu has served as Israel’s prime minister three times: 1996–1999, 2009–2021, and 2022 to the present. 

Despite being the nation’s longest-serving prime minister since Israel’s independence, polling from earlier this month shows that Netanyahu’s approval rating has been trending downward since the start of the war with Iran.

An April 11 survey by Hebrew University’s Agam Labs reported that only 10 percent of Israelis viewed the war as a success at that time. Support for Netanyahu at that time was 34 percent, down from 40 percent at the start of the war. 

“Netanyahu is not winning,” Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher on Iran at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Reuters. 

“This war is a strategic failure. There is a gap between what he promised at the start of the campaign and where we ended up.”

The war has cost Israel around $11.5 billion. 

The prime minister is working to convince voters that the war has been worth the cost ahead of October’s elections. He has also sought to position himself as a key figure in the Pakistan-brokered peace talks.

Israel has announced it would accept a deal that would quash Iran’s missile and nuclear programs.