Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, 92, who was hospitalized on Saturday morning after feeling ill, is likely to have suffered a minor stroke, a hospital official said.

Dr. Yuval Weiss, director of the Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, told reporters that the prominent rabbi has undergone extensive testing and that he is fully conscious and communicative.

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According to Weiss, the rabbi is to remain in the hospital for observation and rest for the next few days.

A source close to Yosef's family said the rabbi felt numbness in his left hand around 2:30 am Saturday but refused to go to the hospital or call a doctor on Shabbat. He felt ill at the synagogue during the morning's prayer. A doctor who was among the worshippers asserted that Yosef was suffering a stroke and that he should be taken to the hospital.

The religious party's spiritual leader was diagnosed with a heart problem several years ago.

The 92-year-old rabbi underwent his third angioplasty in 2006.

Over the years he has been hospitalized several times due to various health problems.

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