Jerusalem ( CNN ) -- International leaders and top Israeli officials attended a state memorial ceremony Monday for Israel 's former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon , who died last week . U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair were among those at the official ceremony outside Israel 's parliament , the Knesset . Under bright sunshine , rows of mourners gathered around Sharon 's coffin over which the blue-and-white Israeli flag was draped . `` You never rested when in service of your people , when defending your land and when making it flourish , '' said Israeli President Shimon Peres , who delivered a eulogy to Sharon at the beginning of the ceremony . A towering military and political leader , Sharon died Saturday after eight years in a coma . Peres , a friend and sometimes rival of Sharon 's , compared him to `` a lion , '' saying he 'd contributed `` an unforgettable chapter '' to Israel 's history . ' A complex man ' Wearing a skullcap and sunglasses , Biden sat alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . In his speech , Biden praised the tenacity of Sharon , a divisive figure in the Middle East . `` Prime Minister Sharon was a complex man ... who engendered strong opinions from everyone , '' he said . `` But like all historic leaders -- all real leaders -- he had a North Star that guided him , a North Star from which he never , in my observation , never deviated . His North Star was the survival of the state of Israel and the Jewish people , wherever they resided . '' The memorial was followed by a funeral procession that included a stop in Latrun for a special meeting of the Israel Defense Forces and ended with a military funeral at Sharon 's Shikmim Ranch . Sharon was wounded in Latrun in 1948 during Israel 's war for independence . He was buried at the ranch in the southern Negev desert . Security was tight throughout . Lt. Col. Peter Lerner , spokesman of the Israeli military , said that two rockets fired from Gaza landed around Sha'ar Hanagev in southern Israel . He could not confirm the proximity of where the rockets landed to the funeral . There were no reports of injuries . 'One of the giants ' Thousands of people Sunday paid their last respects to Sharon as his body lay in state outside the parliament . `` He was one of the giants . He was very special , '' said Ayala Weisel , who said she grew up learning of Sharon as a widely admired soldier who fought for his country . She was one of many mourners who shared memories of Sharon . Chaim Friedman , a tour guide , described Sharon as a decisive leader . `` He was known as the bulldozer because he got his way and he made things happen . He 's well respected for that , '' Friedman said . `` Sometimes in Israel , you have to do it the straight way , or you have to find the other way to get things done , and he managed to do it . '' Read more : Sharon 's life on the front lines . A darker view . But others have painted a darker picture of Sharon 's legacy . And the same decisions that made Sharon a controversial figure during his lengthy tenure as a military man and politician were back on display in the initial reactions to his death . These moments include his role as defense minister during the 1982 war in Lebanon . During that conflict , he was held indirectly responsible by an Israeli inquiry in 1983 for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps . He was forced to resign . He also raised ire in the Arab world by encouraging Israelis to build settlements on occupied Palestinian land but later did an about-face and pushed for the historic withdrawal from settlements in the West Bank and Gaza , which were turned over to Palestinian rule for the first time in nearly four decades . `` We deal with the death of Sharon as an end for the crimes he committed against the Palestinian people , '' said Isra Almodallal , a spokeswoman for Hamas , the Palestinian movement that runs Gaza . `` The biggest crime was the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon , and we deal with Sharon as a criminal person . '' Read more : Five things to know about Sharon . CNN 's Ben Wedeman reported from Jerusalem , and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong . CNN 's Kareem Khader , Mariano Castillo , Saad Abedine and Faith Karimi contributed to this report .
NEW : Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is buried at his ranch in the Negev desert . Sharon has ` ` an unforgettable contribution '' to Israel 's history , Shimon Peres says . Joe Biden says Sharon was committed to the survival of Israel and the Jewish people . He is remembered for his controversial life and political career .