The United States is praying for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's recovery, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

"We are concentrating our prayers and thoughts on hope of his recovery," Rice told reporters, describing Sharon as a "huge and gigantic figure in Israeli politics."

"I do believe that the desire for peace, the desire for a stable relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians, is one that runs wide and deep in Israeli society," the top US diplomat said.

Sharon, 77, was rushed to hospital after he suffered from a massive brain hemorrhage. He was reportedly gravely ill and in a very critical condition.