Former Israeli president Shimon Peres dies aged 93
Video report by ITV News Middle East Correspondent Geraint Vincent.
Former Israeli prime minister and president Shimon Peres has died, aged 93.
Peres led a sceptical Israel into peace talks with the Palestinians in the 1990s and was a celebrated Nobel prize-winning visionary.
He stepped down as president in 2014 at the end of a seven-year term and suffered a heart attack in January this year.
Israel's ninth president was taken to hospital in Ramat Gan earlier this month after suffering a stroke, and had made progress before a sudden deterioration in his condition on Tuesday.
He passed away at around 3am on Wednesday at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
It is not clear when his funeral will take place.
Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his "deep personal grief" at Peres' death.
A statement read: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, express their deep personal grief on the passing of the beloved of the nation, former Israeli President Shimon Peres."
The Israeli cabinet will convene later for special session of mourning, and Netanyahu will deliver a personal message.
Peres was one of the most admired leaders at home and abroad, and the last surviving link to Israel's founding fathers.
He filled nearly every position in Israeli public life in an unprecedented seven-decade political career.
Shimon Peres' doctor and son-in-law Rafi Walden said his legacy "will remain with us all".
In a statement read inside the Sheba Medical Center, Shimon Peres' son Chami, explained how the "entire nation of Israel, and the global community" will mourn together.