Mournful Moment: Omri Sharon walks away from journalists at the hospital where his father, Ariel Sharon, is said to be in his ?final days.? Image by getty images

Ariel Sharon’s medical condition further deteriorated following a blood infection and multiple organ failure.

Prof. Ze’ev Rotstein, the director of Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, said at a press conference Friday morning that over the past 24 hours, doctors have observed a slow deterioration in the functioning of the former Israeli prime minister’s vital organs.

“He is receiving medication to stabilize the heart system and the blood vessels and antibiotics to treat the infection, as we have indication of a blood infection,” Rotstein said, according to Army Radio.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Asked by a reporter if Sharon, 85, was in his final days, Rotshein responded saying, “I personally feel so”.

Rotstein described Sharon’s decline as steady.

“He is comfortable at this time. To the best of our understanding he is not suffering, such that we do not have to take any action to prevent him suffering,” Rotstein said.

On Thursday, a prominent Israeli rabbi said praying for Sharon’s survival was pointless because his brain is inactive.

“We always need to pray for any Jew to wake up but if he regains consciousness, he is in a state of severe brain damage,” Rabbi Shlomo Aviner from Jerusalem told the religious Israeli news site Srugim.co.il. “So what good will waking up do him? No good.”

Sharon’s condition was listed as critical on Thursday following renal failure. Rotstein said the hospital did not plan to perform dialysis treatment.

Sharon has been comatose for almost eight years following a stroke.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount