Former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres has died. He was 93.
The Sheba Medical Centre in Tel Aviv announced Peres' death at 3.40 am Wednesday morning, according to the official government Israel New Agency.
Peres was hospitalised after suffering a stroke on 13 September. He had made some progress, but his health suddenly deteriorated on Tuesday, interior minister Aryeh Deri told reporters.
A statement from family is forthcoming.
Peres had been involved in Israeli politics for more than half a century. He served seven terms as Israel's president until his 2014 retirement, and had served in the majority of Cabinet positions throughout his career – including three terms as prime minister.
Serving as foreign minister under Yitzhak Rabin, Peres helped conclude the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Peace Accords, for which he won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize alongside Rabin and then-Palestinian president Yasser Arafat.
After Rabin's 1995 assasination, Peres became Prime Minister of Israel.
He founded the Peres Centre for Peace, which promoted peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
