Jerusalem, July 16 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to hospital on Saturday after he complained of dizziness, his office said.
Netanyahu, 73, is “in good condition and is undergoing a medical examination”, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement released by his office.
“The initial assessment is dehydration,” the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv where Netanyahu was being treated and the Prime Minister office said in a joint statement.
Netanyahu had spent several hours in the heat at the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel on Friday, and complained of slight dizziness on Saturday before he was admitted to hospital, Israeli media quoted the medical centre and his office as saying.
In the evening, Israel’s Channel 12 news aired a video statement from Netanyahu made in the medical centre, in which he said, “I feel very good.”
“Yesterday (Friday), I was with my wife at the Sea of Galilee, in the sun, without a hat, without water … not a good idea,” he said.
On Wednesday, Israel’s Meteorological Service issued a severe heat stress warning, stating that rising temperatures will lead to a “risk of dehydration and heat stroke,” especially among the sick and elderly.