יוסי כהן
יוסי כהןצילום: Flash90

Director of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, said a closed briefing to senior Israeli health officials that Arab states have been hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic than they have cared to admit.

"Lebanon, Iraq and Syria have a high morbidity rate and are lying," Cohen said. "The numbers of infected and dead Iranians report [by Iranian state media] are incorrect - the numbers I have are much higher."

Reporter Barak Ravid of Channel 13 said Cohen had looked over the Mossad's operation to deliver medical equipment to Israel since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and said that so far it had brought approximately 50 million face masks and 260 respirators to the Jewish state. "Despite [our numerous] connections, the doors were closed in most countries of the world, so we moved the production lines to Israel," said Cohen.

The Mossad head also said that Israel should re-open its economy and put an end to the current lockdown. He said that the Ministry of Health should be empowered to accommodate 5,000 seriously sick coronavirus patients while allowing the country to continue to function.

"I'm against periodically opening, then closing, then opening [the economy again]," he said. "You need a system that can handle all of this without closing, especially a fast and efficient testing system and accumulating additional medical teams."