The last surgery, in April, reattached a part of Sharon's skull that was removed to reduce pressure on his brain. The reattachment was described as a necessary step before transferring Sharon to the long-term care facility at Sheba hospital.

Sharon personified Israel's military might for decades, and Israelis were stunned to see him felled by illness.

His stroke came after Sharon saw through his contentious plan to withdraw Israel from the Gaza Strip after 38 years. Just two months before, Sharon shook up the Israeli political map by bolting his hard-line Likud Party to form the centrist Kadima faction.

After the stroke, Sharon's successor as party leader, Ehud Olmert, led Kadima to victory in a March 28 vote and became prime minister.