Mossad Director David Barnea revealed during a memorial ceremony for fallen Mossad personnel on Tuesday that a member of the agency fell while performing his duties during the war with Iran.
"During the Roaring Lion campaign, my thoughts and heart are filled with pride for the character and actions of M., who fell while performing his duties abroad," Barnea said.
"The operations led by M. combined creativity, cunning, and technology, and significantly influenced the success of the campaign against Iran," he added.
M., who served in the Mossad for 30 years and whose name remains under gag order, was a Mossad operative killed in the boating disaster on Lake Maggiore in Italy in May 2023 during a meeting that Italian media described as involving intelligence personnel from Israel and Italy.
The head of the Mossad said at the ceremony: “There is no other day during the year that is as difficult for us, for me, as Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen. From the defenders of the Jewish community before the establishment of the state, through the fighters of the 1948 war, through all the wars, and to the fighters in the current campaign since October 7, there runs a thread that is never broken: the commitment to defend and protect our home. It is a commitment passed from generation to generation as a mission in life, and each time anew, there are those who choose to carry it on their shoulders."
This is the first time that the death of a Mossad member has been revealed. The intelligence organization's involvement in the war against Iran has been reported many times by foreign sources.