Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is set to fly to Israel to attend the funeral of the late former Israeli President Shimon Peres, a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry reads. 

According to Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid, Shoukry, who will be representing the Egyptian government, will leave Cairo on Thursday night in a private jet to attend the early Friday funeral and return on the same day. 

Egypt and Jordan were among the first Arab countries to announce that a representative would be attending the funeral of Peres, with media reports saying that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is also expected to attend the funeral following the approval of Israeli authorities. 

Peres died in Tel Aviv on Wednesday aged 93. He was hospitalised following a stroke two weeks ago and had made some progress before a sudden deterioration in his condition on Tuesday.

Friday's funeral is expected to gather world leaders, with Israeli security forces raising high alert by closing off key roads and deploying thousands of security officers.

According to AFP, US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, German President Joachim Gauck and Britain's Prince Charles are among those attending.