FACT CHECK: Has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Been Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer?

A viral post shared on X claims Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has purportedly been diagnosed with “Grade 3 prostate cancer.”

BREAKING:

🇮🇱 Head of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Medical Team: Netanyahu has been diagnosed with Grade 3 prostate cancer. pic.twitter.com/1frGVXa6sI

— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) December 29, 2024

Verdict: False

Netanyahu recently underwent surgery to remove his prostate due to a urinary tract infection, according to CBS News. He has not been diagnosed with cancer.

Fact Check:

Netanyahu was discharged from Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital on January 2 following prostate removal surgery, according to the Times of Israel. Upon his release, Netanyahu’s doctors said he was “recovering satisfactorily,” the outlet reported.

The X post, viewed over one million times as of writing, claims Netanyahu has purportedly been diagnosed with “Grade 3 prostate cancer.”

“BREAKING: Head of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Medical Team: Netanyahu has been diagnosed with Grade 3 prostate cancer,” the post, which features a photo of Netanyahu, reads.

The claim is false. According to CNN, Netanyahu recently had surgery to remove his prostate. Netanyahu “was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign prostate enlargement,” CBS News reported, citing his office. Neither outlet repeated the claim about the Israeli Prime Minister purportedly having Grade 3 cancer. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Missiles Over Saudi Arabia?)

Likewise, Netanyahu does not appear to have publicly commented on the claim via his official website or his verified social media accounts.

In addition, Check Your Fact did not find any credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On Dec. 31, Lead Stories debunked the claim.

Furthermore, David Baker, a spokesperson for Netanyahu, denied the claim’s validity to Lead Stories via email.

“Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent an examination at Hadassah Hospital in the course of which was discovered a urinary tract infection stemming from a benign enlargement of his prostate. Since then, for several days, the Prime Minister has been treated with antibiotics which have successfully dealt with the infection. As a result, Prime Minister Netanyahu will undergo treatment tomorrow to remove his prostate,” Baker said.

In a subsequent email, Baker told the outlet that Netanyahu’s “surgery has concluded successfully and without complications.”

Check Your Fact has also contacted Baker for comment.