Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon moved his eyelids on Monday, 12 days after suffering a massive stroke, a hospital statement quoted Sharon's family as saying.
Reports on some Israeli websites quoted Sharon aides as saying the 77-year-old had opened his eyes, but the statement from Hadassah Hospital denied his eyes had fully opened.
The medical significance of the eyelid movement was not clear, the hospital statement said.
On Sunday, Sharon underwent a tracheotomy to help wean him off a respirator, the hospital said.
A tracheotomy is a surgical incision of the trachea through the neck to make an opening for breathing.
"The condition of the prime minister continues to be critical and stable," the hospital said in an earlier statement.
Last week, doctors said Sharon had shown slight improvement from various neurological exams, and had moved his right and left hand along with his right leg. The movement on the left side is significant because the left side of the body is controlled by the right side of the brain, which was damaged by the stroke.
But one doctor has noted that any recovery would take months, and another has cautioned that Sharon is not out of danger.
The Prime Minister was brought to the facility on January 4 after suffering what doctors determined to be a massive stroke that resulted in brain hemorrhaging. He has undergone 13 hours of surgery to reduce bleeding in his brain, and doctors last week began the process of slowly lowering his dosage of anesthesia to bring him out of a medically-induced coma.
On Friday, a hospital statement said Sharon underwent a brain scan that revealed he no longer needed a tube to drain excess blood from his brain, and the tube was removed. An intravenous drip was also inserted into his arm to reduce his chances of infection.
Sharon remains in the neurological intensive care unit.
During his hospitalisation, his powers as prime minister were transferred to Ehud Olmert, his long-time loyalist and a former Jerusalem mayor.
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