by JNS Staff
The operative was killed “outside of Israel,” the Jewish state’s top spy said.
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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Director david David Barnea attended the award ceremony for the Prime Minister’s Prize for Mossad operations, Sept. 17, 2025. Photo by Amos Ben Gershom/GPO. |
A Mossad agent who laid the groundwork for Israel’s “Operation Roaring Lion” against Iran fell in the line of duty “outside of Israel,” the agency’s director, David Barnea, revealed on Tuesday.
“During ‘Operation Roaring Lion,’ my thoughts and heart were filled with pride in the character and actions of M., who fell outside Israel while carrying out his duty,” Barnea said at a Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) ceremony for members of the intelligence agency, according to the Kan News public broadcaster.
“The operations led by M. combined creativity and ingenuity alongside technology, and had a significant impact on the success of the campaign against Iran,” the Jewish state’s top spy added.
The Jewish state’s Channel 12 News broadcaster identified M. as the former Mossad agent who was killed when a tourist boat overturned on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy on May 28, 2023. Israeli media at the time identified the deceased as 50-year-old Erez Shimoni, but the Prime Minister’s Office said that no additional details would be forthcoming due to the individual’s past service to the country.
“The Mossad has lost a dear, dedicated and professional colleague who, for decades, devoted his life to the security of the State of Israel, even after his retirement. The Mossad mourns the loss and shares in the grief of the family, which it will continue to support and embrace,” said the PMO statement.
The other fatalities among the 22 passengers and two crew members were two Italians who worked for the country’s intelligence service and the Russian wife of the boat captain. The rest of those aboard managed to swim to shore or were rescued by other boats, although five of them were injured in the incident.
According to reports, 18 of the 20 survivors were also either active or former intelligence agents. Like the Israelis, the Italians were quickly evacuated from emergency rooms and hotels “so as not to leave a trace.”
Following “Operation Rising Lion” against Tehran in June 2025, Barnea said that the Mossad would continue to conduct covert operations inside the Islamic Republic for the foreseeable future.
In a rare video message released by the agency, Barnea emphasized that the Jewish state’s intelligence reach inside Iran was extensive and ongoing.
“We will be there, like we have been there,” he said. “We worked for months and years to do all the right actions to get to the right moment.”
Hebrew outlets and international media have attributed many high-level targeted killings and sabotage efforts to Mossad operatives.
Earlier this month, U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the Israel Defense Forces and the Mossad were “helpful partners” in the rescue mission of an American colonel from deep Iranian territory.
The diplomat tweeted on April 6 that he had met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and thanked Jerusalem on behalf of the American people for its “unprecedented assistance” to U.S. military and intelligence agencies to conduct the rescue of the U.S. air crew.
JNS Staff
Source: https://www.jns.org/news/israel-news/mossad-agent-fell-in-action-after-laying-groundwork-for-iran-war-agency-director-reveals
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