Amos Oz death: Israeli author best known for book ‘A Tale of Love and Darkness’ dies aged 79

Oz, who wrote novels, prose and a widely acclaimed memoir, had reportedly been suffering from cancer

The leading Israeli author Amos Oz has died at the age of 79, his daughter has announced.

“To those who love him, thank you,” Fania Oz-Salzberger wrote on Twitter.

Oz, who wrote novels, prose and a widely acclaimed memoir, had reportedly been suffering from cancer.

He won numerous prizes, including the Israel Prize, the country’s top civilian recognition, and Germany’s Goethe Award.

Over his 50-year career, Oz chronicled his country’s rise from the ashes of the Holocaust and internal struggles among Jews and Arabs or rightists and leftists.

Author Amos Oz attends the UCLA Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center For Israel Studies 5th Annual Gala at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on 5 May 5, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) ((Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images))

He won international plaudits and was a bookies’ favourite for the Nobel Prize for Literature, though his political views sometimes drew condemnation at home.

His works included Black Box, In the Land of Israel and A Tale of Love and Darkness, a 2002 memoir that was also adapted into a film starring Natalie Portman in 2015.

Born in Jerusalem to Eastern European immigrants, Oz moved to a kibbutz at 15 after his mother’s suicide.

He fought in the 1967 and 1973 Middle East wars, experiences that tinged his advocacy for territorial compromise with the Palestinians.

In a 1998 interview with The Associated Press, Oz lamented the deep divisions in Israeli society.

“We have not yet established the rules of the game in 50 years,” he said. “You could hardly get two Israelis to agree on the kind of Israel they want.”

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement eulogising Oz: ”It was a tale of love and light, and now, a great darkness.

“Rest in peace, dear Amos. You gave us great pleasure.”

“We are mourning the passing of Amos Oz, a wonderful Israeli poet and novelist, a towering voice for peace,” wrote the European Union’s delegation to Israel. “May his memory be a blessing.”

Agencies contributed to this report.