Answering reporters’ questions on Thursday, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said 36 people were captured in operations against espionage activities of Israel’s Mossad in the country in the latest investigation. Tunç said 12 people are wanted, while total number of people investigated exceeded 100. He noted that 25 people were remanded in custody.

"This is nothing new. There were already investigations against Israeli intelligence’s espionage activities in Türkiye. Investigations are underway in light of evidence supplied by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and police," he said, highlighting the legal proceedings against more than 100 were for those in other investigations. "Currently 46 people are subject to legal proceedings," he said.

On Thursday, suspects were taken to a hospital in Istanbul for a medical check, being photographed by media for the first time. Tunç said they were still being interrogated. He pointed out that there were four separate cases regarding Israel's espionage activities. Tunç also referred to another investigation dating back to 2021, which ended with legal proceedings for 27 suspects. He said this case was before an Istanbul court. He also highlighted legal proceedings against another 62 people stemming from a December 2022 operation that concluded with the arrest of 19 suspects and a case dating back to April 2023 where four people were remanded in custody.

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul issued arrest warrants for suspects in the latest investigation into Israeli intelligence service Mossad's alleged plot targeting foreigners in Türkiye. Thirty-four suspects were detained on Tuesday, authorities announced. Authorities said operations were held in eight provinces against people suspected of involvement in espionage activities for Israel.

The investigation found that Israeli intelligence was behind activities targeting foreigners residing in Türkiye, from reconnaissance to assaults and abduction attempts. No other details are available regarding the investigation, but Mossad was implicated in the past in investigations about attempts to kidnap Palestinians living in Türkiye.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya recently shared a video of operations jointly carried out by police and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT). In a social media post, Yerlikaya said an investigation into international espionage activities led to the operations.

"We will not allow espionage targeting our national unity," Yerlikaya said.

The minister said authorities discovered more than 143,000 euros ($157,300) and more than $23,000 in the possession of suspects, along with one pistol and a large amount of munitions.

Media outlets reported that the arrests followed an investigation by the counterterrorism office of the Chief Prosecutor's Office on Mossad's targeting of Palestinians as well as Israeli activists opposing Israel's aggression targeting Palestinians. The suspects' nationalities were not disclosed but were in touch with the Mossad operatives via social media.

Turkish intelligence sources told Anadolu Agency (AA) last month that Israeli intelligence was warned against any attempt to assassinate members of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Türkiye. Israel will hunt down Hamas in Lebanon, Türkiye and Qatar even if it takes years, the head of Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, said in a recording aired by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, before the statements of Turkish intelligence sources.

"The Cabinet has set us a goal, in street talk, to eliminate Hamas. This is our Munich. We will do this everywhere: in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Türkiye, in Qatar. It will take a few years, but we will be there to do it," he said. By Munich, Bar was referring to Israel’s response to the 1972 killing of 11 Israeli Olympic team members when gunmen from the Palestinian Black September group launched an attack on the Munich games. Israel responded by carrying out a targeted assassination campaign against Black September operatives and organizers over several years and in several countries.

Hamas leaders reside in or frequently visit Lebanon, Türkiye and Qatar. Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh even attended a landmark meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the capital Ankara last summer, in talks hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for improvement of ties between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

The Turkish sources said such an action would result in serious consequences. The warning by Turkish officials, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, followed an earlier Wall Street Journal story alleging that amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, Israel also plans to assassinate Hamas members living outside Palestine, including in Türkiye, Lebanon and Qatar. The necessary warnings against any such action were made to the Israeli officials concerned, Turkish officials said. The officials mentioned that various foreign intelligence services had previously tried to carry out illegal activities on Turkish territory but without success, stressing that no foreign intelligence service would be allowed to carry out such operations on the soil of the Republic of Türkiye. Turkish officials have condemned the brutality of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, taking more than 20,000 lives and stressed that Hamas, which Israel has said it aims to eradicate, is not a terrorist group.

Türkiye, even at times of potential rapprochement with Israel after the two countries’ relations deteriorated over Türkiye’s support for the Palestinian cause, was uncompromising on Israeli intelligence’s operations in its territories. Apart from dismantling the secret cells of Mossad, Türkiye most recently saved a Palestinian hacker from his abductees, according to reports in the Turkish media. Omar A., a hacker associated with Hamas who reportedly managed to disrupt Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, was abducted in Malaysia, where he traveled from Türkiye. Turkish intelligence alerted Malaysian authorities and secured his release from Mossad-linked abductors and brought him back to Türkiye, where he now resides in a safe house.

Espionage 'job'

According to sources, the Israeli intelligence service Mossad hired short-term staff in Türkiye through dubious-looking job ads before Tuesday's operation netted them. The candidates, which included foreigners in the country, were then employed to run reconnaissance work on Palestinians residing in the country. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul and the intelligence department of the Turkish National Police have conducted the joint operation in Istanbul and seven other provinces. Most of the detainees were foreign nationals.

Sources say some among them were short-term "workers" for Mossad, employed for "tactical work" and utilized for "actions targeting Palestinians in Türkiye and their families." Mossad resorted to job ads "with scarce details" on social media or online chatrooms to lure potential recruits. Recruits were initially given minor tasks and contacted by Mossad operatives through Telegram and WhatsApp. The operatives strictly used written communication to contact recruits while payments were made through couriers or middlemen. Israeli intelligence also turned to cryptocurrency and wire transfers to dodge tracking of the monetary transfers, according to sources. The couriers and middlemen were also found through social media job postings by Mossad operatives, convincing the carriers that the money was used in illegal betting operations and that secrecy was required. The sources said that the Israeli intelligence was involved in a wide range of operations in Türkiye, from collecting data, photo/video surveillance of their targets and tracking their marks with GPS devices planted on vehicles of targets. They are also accused of being involved in assault, arson, blackmail, running websites and disseminating false news to achieve their goals of disinformation. Israeli intelligence is also involved in hacking activities ranging from collecting IP numbers of their targets to hacking into security cameras in the areas where targets are tracked.

Aside from "short-term employees," the Israeli intelligence recruited others and met them abroad to avoid detection by Turkish intelligence and secure its own operatives. Operatives hosted potential recruits on posh vacations abroad to lure them and asked them to undergo polygraph tests. They paid cash to recruits they met abroad and helped them take money back to Türkiye in specially designed bags to avoid detection at customs. The meetings abroad also ensure the security of its operatives and avoid being targeted by Turkish intelligence. These meetings were held at luxurious hotels and upscale restaurants, where operatives also enjoyed exclusive tours. Recruits were trained on intelligence and secret communication tactics abroad by Mossad. They were also used for various tasks, from smuggling people and goods from Turkish-Iranian and Turkish-Iraqi borders, setting up safe houses, employing hackers and in some cases, setting up ambulance companies to be used in intelligence operations.