Turkey arrests 33 suspected of being spies for Mossad

Authorities in Turkey have arrested 33 people across the country suspected of spying for Israel, a senior intelligence officer and the Turkish Interior Minister said yesterday.

Turkish police and intelligence services raided 57 locations across eight provinces in the operation.

Authorities allege those detained were working for the Israeli spy agency Mossad.

“Turkish intelligence established that the individuals in question were involved in reconnaissance, surveillance, assault and kidnapping operations and or plots targeting foreign nationals in Turkey on Mossad’s behalf,” a senior Turkish intelligence officer told The National.

The raids – known as Operation Mole – led to the seizure of €143,830 ($157,530) and $23,680 in cash, an unlicensed gun, a large quantity of cartridges and digital materials, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

Authorities are still searching for 13 more people and arrest warrants have been issued, the senior intelligence officer said.

“We are determined to ensure that absolutely no foreign intelligence agency can operate on Turkish soil without proper authorisation,” the intelligence official said.

Turkish authorities did not say whether those detained were Turkish citizens, nor did they provide more information on the identities or nationalities of those they had allegedly been tracking.

A senior Israeli official did not comment on the arrests.

Tensions between Turkey and Israel have been heightened during the war in Gaza.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s strikes and ground offensive in the enclave, in which more than 22,100 people – mostly women and children – have been killed.

The war began after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli settlements, in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 abducted.

Tens of thousands of people protested in Istanbul on New Year’s Day against the war, which has displaced about two million people.

In the past, suspected Mossad agents have been detained in Turkey for tracking Palestinians.