Barack Obama will skip two campaign rallies scheduled Thursday, and fly to Hawaii to see his seriously ill grandmother. Politico has the late breaking news.

“In the last few weeks her health has deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious,” Gibbs told reporters aboard Obama’s campaign plane.

Update beneath the fold…

The change of plans means Obama will scrap scheduled rallies Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, and Madison, Wisc. He will instead head to Indianapolis, Ind., for a morning event, leave for Hawaii and return to the campaign trail Saturday, making stops in the West.

His grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, “has always been one of the most important people in his life,” Gibbs said. “Along with his mother and his grandfather, she raised him in Hawaii from the time he was born to the moment he left for college.”

“The decision that Sen. Obama is making to go to Hawaii underscores the seriousness of the situation,” Gibbs said