JERUSALEM Shlomo Shamir, the last surviving Israeli general who served in the 1948 Middle East war, has died at the age of 94, the military said.

He was one of 12 generals who commanded Israel's armed forces at its creation when the Jewish state was immediately plunged into war with its Arab neighbours. Born in Russia in 1915, Shamir moved with his family to what was then British mandate Palestine 10 years later.

He had a long military career and was named major general when the Israeli armed forces were created as Israel proclaimed independence on May 14, 1948.—AFP

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