Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his schedule, including his appearance at his trial, for the remainder of the day after being diagnosed with bronchitis, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Wednesday.
During the trial that morning, Netanyahu had complained of a cough and a cold during cross-examination in the Tel Aviv District Court, in which judges agreed to his request to delay the hearing.
At the recommendation of his doctor, Netanyahu will spend the day resting at home, the PMO stated.
The hearing was set to end at 4:30 pm, but the prime minister had requested to testify for only a short period more.
The prime minister came under fire for exposing the allegedly poor health of newly released hostages who are undergoing rehabilitation at hospitals in Israel’s center.
On X/Twitter, Prof. Hagai Levine, head of the medical division of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, wrote, “If Netanyahu has a cold that refuses to subside, as he claimed today in court, why did he visit survivors of captivity with weakened immune systems yesterday and put them at risk?”
Netanyahu not infectious, hospital confirms
Hadassah-University Medical Center, in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem released a statement confirming that the prime minister was not infectious later Wednesday.