Lake Maggiore boat incident

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Lake Maggiore boat incident
Lake Maggiore in 2009
Date28 May 2023 (2023-05-28)
LocationLake Maggiore, Italy
Deaths4

On 28 May 2023, houseboat Gooduria capsized in the Northern Italian Lake Maggiore, killing four people amongst the twenty-three on board.[1][2] The incident attracted attention when it became clear that almost all of the people on board were associated with the Italian and Israeli national intelligence agencies.[3][4]

Out of the four people who died, two had been currently working for the Italian Intelligence Service,[3] and one for the Mossad.[5] All people on board, except the captain and his wife, were employees or ex-employees of intelligence or defence services.[4][6][7] The ten Israeli survivors were flown back to Israel on a military aircraft before questioning could take place.[3][6]

The meeting on the boat had initially been described as a birthday party.[8] Later reports connected the meeting to a joint operation relating to "Iranian non-conventional weapons capabilities".[9] The agents had been investigating local industry and Russian residents of the region with ties to the Iranian military.[10][11]

At the funeral of the Israeli agent, which was held in Ashkelon four days after the incident, Mossad director David Barnea gave a eulogy.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Israeli among four killed in boating accident in Italy". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Italy: Agents die when boat capsizes on Lake Maggiore". BBC News. 30 May 2023. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Lake Maggiore tour boat that sank was carrying Israeli and Italian security personnel". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b Giuffrida, Angela; Holmes, Oliver (2 June 2023). "Lake Maggiore deaths: why were Italian and Israeli secret service agents on a boat in northern Italy?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  5. ^ Balmer, Crispian; Chacar, Henriette (31 May 2023). Williams, Alison (ed.). "Dead Israeli agent flown home after Italy boat accident". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Israel: Retired Mossad agent, still 'devoted to state security,' died on capsized boat". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  7. ^ Nadeau, Barbie Latza (31 May 2023). "All passengers on boat that sank on Italy lake had worked for security or defense services". CNN. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  8. ^ Rothwell, James; Squires, Nick (30 May 2023). "Retired Mossad agent and two spies drown in mysterious incident on Italian lake". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Report: Mossad Agent Who Drowned in Northern Italy Was Part of Mission Targeting Iranian Weapons". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Russian oligarchs and Iranian drones: New spy details about capsized boat in Italy". i24NEWS. 1 June 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  11. ^ Di Feo, Gianluca (2 June 2023). "Gli 007 naufragati al lago Maggiore e l'azione segreta contro i traffici di armi strategiche" [007s shipwrecked at Lake Maggiore and covert action against strategic arms deals]. la Repubblica (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Mossad agent who died in Italy boat capsizing laid to rest in Israel". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.