CAIRO: Renowned Egyptian novelist and journalist Gamal El-Ghitani died Sunday at a hospital in Cairo where he had been in a coma for more than three months, his wife said.

Ghitani, 70, was originally admitted to El-Galaa military hospital after he faced difficulty in breathing. “He died this morning,” Ghitani’s wife, Magda El-Gendi, told reporters.

His funeral will be held at Cairo’s Sayyida Nafisa mosque later Sunday, state media reported.

Ghitani, a firm supporter of the army since the fall of veteran leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011, was one of Egypt’s most acclaimed writers and shared a close friendship with the Arab world’s only Nobel laureate, Naguib Mahfouz.

“Gamal Ghitani contributed significantly in enriching literature with his unique style, intelligence and broad vision,” Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in a statement.