Israeli cabinet holds special session on death of Shimon Peres

Binyamin Netanyahu convoyed his condolences to the family of former president Shimon Peres, who passed away early Wednesday at Sheba hospital aged 93, after more than 60 years as a public figure. He called a special cabinet meeting to set out arrangements for a state funeral and national mourning. Among the first of world leaders to send Israel condolences, US President Barack Obama called Shimon Peres a “soldier for the Jewish people” and “a friend whose moral imagination changed the course of human history." Obama, who awarded Peres the Medal of Freedom in 2012, offered final thanks for the gift of his friendship and the "example of his leadership," signing off in Hebrew: "Todah rabah, Shimon."