JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin put down wreaths beside the casket of Israel's ninth President Shimon Peres on Thursday morning, as preparations for his funeral were underway.

Peres died Wednesday from complications following a stroke. He was 93.

The casket, draped in a blue and white flag, will lie in state in the plaza of Israel's parliament throughout the day for Israelis to come to pay their respects.

President Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and French President Francois Hollande are among scores of world leaders who will attend the funeral in the country's national cemetery in Jerusalem Friday. It is expected to be the largest such gathering in Israel since the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by a Jewish nationalist in 1995. More than 60 private planes are expected to arrive ahead of the ceremony.

Police have shut roads throughout Jerusalem in preparation.

Peres served twice as Israel's prime minister. Over his seven-decade political career, he transformed from a hawk to a Nobel Prize-winning advocate of reconciliation with the Palestinians. As Israel's president, he cultivated admiration at home and abroad for his youthful optimism.