Shimon Peres, the former Israeli president and elder statesman, died today at 93, prompting US President Barack Obama to lead tributes by saying: "A light has gone out, but the hope he gave us will burn forever".
Peres, an indefatigable campaigner for Middle East peace who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, was hospitalised following a stroke two weeks ago and died in Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv.
Obama paid tribute to Peres, saying: "There are few people who we share this world with who change the course of human history, not just through their role in human events, but because they expand our moral imagination and force us to expect more of ourselves. My friend Shimon was one of those people".
It was reported that Obama is planning to attend Peres' funeral, which Israeli media said was expected to be held on Friday, although details of the ceremony were not made public.
Pope Francis, who earlier this month prayed for Peres to have a "full recovery", is also expected to attend the funeral, according to Israeli media reports.
The Pope last met with Peres at the Vatican in June this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement expressing "deep personal grief at the passing of the beloved of the nation."
The Israeli cabinet was this morning set to convene for a special session of mourning.
A official announcement of Peres's death was made at the hospital by his son Chemi and son-in-law Rafi Walden, who said he died without suffering and that he had donated his corneas for transplant.
"His life ended abruptly when he was still working on his great passion, strengthening the country and striving for peace. His legacy will remain with us all," said Walden, who was also Peres' personal doctor.
Peres was part of almost every major development in Israel since the country's foundation in 1948. In a career spanning nearly 70 years, he served in a dozen cabinets and was twice a Labour prime minister.
He shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with the late former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for reaching an interim peace deal in 1993 which never turned into a lasting treaty.
Rabin was assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli ultra-nationalist who opposed the interim accords, and it was Peres who took over as prime minister after Rabin's death.
Peres is widely seen as having gained nuclear capabilities for Israel by procuring the secret Dimona reactor from France while defence ministry director-general in the 1950s. And as defence minister oversaw the 1976 Israeli rescue of hijacked Israelis at Entebbe airport in Uganda.
Peres held the largely ceremonial post of president from 2007-2014 and used the pulpit to continue to advocate peace.
Earlier in September, after a series of health scares including a mild heart attack, Peres received an artificial pacemaker.
Britain's Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis said that "Shimon Peres was the greatest living example of an unshakable belief in the pursuit of peace," adding that the former Israeli president was "a born leader, a uniquely talented diplomat and a relentless campaigner for peace".
Additional reporting by Reuters
