Former president Peres suffers stroke

FORMER president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres, the last of Israel’s founding fathers, suffered a “major” stroke and was breathing with the aid of a respirator in intensive care early yesterday, doctors said.

Nationwide concern mounted over the condition of 93-year-old Mr Peres, widely respected as an elder statesman.

Mr Peres suffered “a major stroke today with a component of bleeding”, Dr Yitzhak Kreis told journalists outside the hospital near Tel Aviv.

He was sedated in the intensive care unit, said Dr Kreis, director of the Sheba Medical Centre at Tel HaShomer in Ramat Gan.

A later statement from Mr Peres’ office said he was in serious but stable condition, with doctors having decided not to operate for the time being.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted the head of the hospital’s stroke unit as saying “the damage isn’t the main issue currently”.

“We’re working on getting him to a state in which his life won’t be in jeopardy,” Dr David Orion said. Peres’ son Chemi told journalists “we are going to have to take difficult decisions apparently later, but not yet”.

“My family and I are going through difficult times, difficult hours,” he said. –