Israel’s Mossad has revealed that one of its senior agents was killed in Italy during an intelligence operation against Iran. Two Italian intelligence officers involved in the same mission were likewise killed. The announcement was made by Mossad director David Barnea on April 21, during commemorations for Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s national day of remembrance.
In a public tribute, Barnea honored the operative — identified only as “M.” — praising his capabilities and stating that his actions “had a significant impact on the success of the latest campaign against Iran.”
“During Operation Roaring Lion,” he added, referring to the strikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran starting on February 28, “my thoughts and heart were filled with pride for the image and actions of M., who fell outside Israel in the line of duty.” The remarks were reported by The Jerusalem Post and several Italian media outlets.
The deaths of the three agents date back to May 28, 2023, on Lake Maggiore, near the Swiss border. On that day, 23 people were aboard a small private yacht that capsized, resulting in four fatalities. Investigators initially attributed the incident to severe weather conditions but, over time, the episode drew increasing attention when it emerged that many of the survivors had links to intelligence services. Among them were 12 Israeli operatives from the Mossad, six Italian agents from AISE — Italy’s foreign intelligence service responsible for operations abroad — and the boat’s skipper, described as a trusted figure within Italian intelligence circles.
Those who lost their lives were a Mossad agent identified as “M.” — reportedly the head of the Israeli delegation involved in the mission — two members of AISE and the skipper’s wife, a Russian national.
Initially, the press described the event as a tragic accident, something that has never been definitively ruled out, but over the following months a growing number of details suggested that it had taken place in the course of an intelligence operation.
Ten months later, Italian intelligence confirmed that the two officers “lost their lives in the waters of Lake Maggiore on May 28, 2023, during the execution of a delicate operational activity with allied foreign services,” effectively confirming that the incident was not a simple leisure trip but a classified joint operation involving Italian and foreign intelligence services.
What exactly the mission entailed remains officially undisclosed. However, over time, a growing body of reporting has pointed to Iran. One of the earliest indications came from the biography of Tiziana Barnobi, one of the Italian victims. Born in 1969 and working for AISE since 2016, she is described as having been “employed in delicate and complex intelligence-gathering missions,” supported by “extensive knowledge of working languages.” Media reports previously published online suggested she may have had professional experience in a commercial context connected to Iran.
Now, according to The Jerusalem Post, Barnea’s remarks about agent “M.” are interpreted by some observers as further confirmation that the operation was directed at Iranian targets. According to several Israeli media outlets, later echoed by the Italian press, the Mossad officer identified as “M.” had been working in coordination with Italian intelligence to disrupt Iranian efforts to acquire advanced military capabilities.
Other reports have suggested a different angle, speaking of an operation aimed at disrupting the transfer of Iranian military technology to Russia in connection with the war in Ukraine, with references to the presence of Russian oligarchs in the area and the proximity of Swiss financial channels potentially involved in such transactions.
However, none of these elements has ever been officially confirmed. The only consistent point, as reported by Barnea, is that the agents died during an operation connected to Iranian targets.
Against this backdrop, what was once described as a tragic accident has increasingly been reframed by media reporting as a possible covert operation gone wrong. Still, in the absence of official and fully declassified accounts from the services involved, key details surrounding the Lake Maggiore incident — and its operational objectives — remain unconfirmed.
