The Shadow War on the Bosphorus: Inside the Escalating Intelligence Battle Between Israel and Turkey
A fierce and increasingly intelligence war is unfolding between Israel and Turkey, transforming the bustling streets of Istanbul into a primary battleground for rival spy agencies. In a dramatic escalation of covert hostilities, both nations have recently pulled back the curtain on extensive espionage networks operating within each other's spheres of influence, highlighting a deepening strategic rivalry that extends far beyond traditional diplomatic friction.
Israel Exposes Hamas Command in Turkey
The latest salvo in this shadow war came on June 21, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security agency) jointly unveiled a sweeping intelligence operation targeting Hamas operatives based in Turkey.
According to Israeli authorities, the exposed network consists of senior Hamas figures who have been utilizing Turkish soil to direct, fund, and orchestrate military actions against targets in Israel and the West Bank. The Shin Bet identified five key operatives allegedly working under the command of Zaher Jabarin, the Istanbul-based head of Hamas’s West Bank activity, and Ayman Abu Khalil, who commands the military wing in the territory.
The named operatives include Salam Yaish, who allegedly recruited attack operatives; Walid Abu Nasser, accused of financing a Hamas network in Bethlehem; Majed Ja'aba, who reportedly assisted in supplying weapons for a November 2023 shooting attack at a Jerusalem-area checkpoint; Muhammad Mallah, who allegedly transferred funds for terror activities; and Ayman Sharawna, who worked on recruitment.
Israeli officials accuse the group of operating "unhindered" from Turkish territory, exploiting local infrastructure to smuggle weapons and transfer funds. This revelation follows a similar Shin Bet disclosure earlier in 2025, which uncovered a terror network directed by Mahmoud Radwan—a Hamas member deported to Turkey in early 2025—who allegedly recruited operatives in the West Bank during meetings held in Turkey.
For Israel, the exposure of these networks serves a dual purpose: disrupting Hamas's command structure and applying diplomatic pressure on Ankara, which Israel accuses of turning a blind eye to the terror group's leadership residing in its cities.
Turkey’s Counter Moves: MIT’s Crackdown on Mossad
However, the intelligence flow is not unidirectional. Just as Israel has sought to dismantle Hamas networks in Turkey, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has been systematically hunting and exposing alleged Israeli Mossad agents operating within its borders.
In February 2026, Turkish authorities arrested two men in Istanbul accused of a decade-long espionage campaign for Mossad. Mehmet Budak Derya, a mining engineer, and Veysel Kerimoglu, of Palestinian descent, were allegedly recruited by Israeli intelligence in 2013. Turkish prosecutors claim the pair provided critical technical data on communications equipment, gathered personal information on Palestinians critical of Israel, and attempted to infiltrate technological supply chains by establishing front companies abroad.
This followed a major revelation in October 2025, when MIT exposed another alleged spy ring. Serkan Cicek, operating under the guise of "Pandora Investigations," reportedly received cryptocurrency payments from a Mossad handler to surveil a Palestinian activist in Istanbul. He was aided by Tugrulhan Dip, a lawyer who allegedly mined public records for intelligence, and Musa Koç, who had previously been imprisoned for leaking information to Israel. In April 2025, an Istanbul court also sentenced six individuals in a separate espionage case linked to Mossad.
"Operation Falling Lion" and a New Counterintelligence Doctrine
Turkish officials describe these arrests not as isolated incidents, but as the culmination of a sustained, multi-year campaign dubbed "Operation Falling Lion." Since 2021, MIT has claimed to have dismantled a succession of Israeli networks, ranging from a 2021 ring targeting Palestinian students to a massive 68-member spy ring uncovered in 2022, and a 2023 "Ghost Cell" that allegedly targeted foreign diplomats.
Analysts note that Turkey has shifted toward an "active counterintelligence doctrine." Unlike the traditional shadow warfare model where intelligence battles are kept strictly secret, Ankara has chosen to prosecute alleged spies in open courts and heavily publicize their arrests. This strategy aims to create transparency, deter future recruitment, and publicly undermine Mossad's operational footprint in the region.
To support this aggressive posture, MIT Director İbrahim Kalın noted in his 2025 annual report that the agency has significantly expanded its technical capabilities, investing heavily in big data analysis, artificial intelligence, satellite imagery, and cyber intelligence to track foreign operatives.
The intelligence war between Jerusalem and Ankara is not confined to Turkish soil. The global reach of this shadow conflict was starkly illustrated by the case of Omar Albelbaisy, a Palestinian hacker linked to disruptions of Israel's Iron Dome system.
According to Turkish and Malaysian sources, after Mossad allegedly abducted Albelbaisy in Malaysia using elaborate traps and fake job offers, a coordinated emergency response between Malaysian police and MIT successfully rescued him within 36 hours. Turkish intelligence subsequently released the identities and photographs of the alleged Mossad agents involved, marking a significant public relations and operational victory for Ankara.
The tit-for-tat intelligence operations underscore the profound deterioration in relations between Israel and Turkey in recent years. While both nations maintain significant strategic interests in the Middle East, their backing of opposing regional factions has turned their respective intelligence agencies into direct adversaries.
As the Shin Bet continues to hunt Hamas commanders in Istanbul, and MIT relentlessly pursues alleged Mossad operatives across the country, the Bosphorus remains one of the world's most active—and increasingly public—frontlines in the global war of shadows.