Harel's daughter Sharon said he died of cardiac arrest at his
home in Tel Aviv.
Harel commanded four expeditions that brought thousands of
refugees to the shores of Palestine, his daughter said. But the best known was
that of the Exodus 1947, a ship that left France in July 1947 carrying more than
4,500 people -- mostly Holocaust survivors and other displaced Jews -- in a
secret effort to reach Palestine.
At the time, Britain controlled Palestine and was attempting
to limit the immigration of Jews.
The British Royal Navy seized the vessel off Palestine's
shores, and after a battle on board that left three people dead, turned the ship
and its passengers back to Europe, where the refugees were forced to disembark
in Germany.
The ship's ordeal was widely reported worldwide, garnering
sympathy for the refugees, especially since they were brought to Germany.
It inspired a fictionalized account by American writer Leon
Uris and a classic 1960 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Paul
Newman.
Israel celebrates the 60th anniversary of its founding next
month.
"He was an extraordinary, unusual man, very brave, very modest
and very lucky because he was able to touch the lives of so many people,''
Harel's daughter Sharon said.
The Jerusalem-born Harel is to be buried in Kibbutz Sdot Yam
on Monday, his daughter said. The communal farm was the headquarters of the
naval force of the Palmach, Israel's pre-state military.
