Turkey arrests 34 individuals over alleged espionage on behalf of Israel

Turkey has announced that it has apprehended 34 individuals suspected of being involved in spying activities and planning abductions on behalf of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. According to officials, 57 locations in Istanbul and other areas were raided, and authorities are still in search of 12 more suspects. While Israel has not yet commented on the situation, tensions between the two countries have escalated amid Israel's conflict with Hamas. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a video of the operation, named "Mole," and explained that Turkish intelligence had taken action after suspecting Israeli involvement in activities such as reconnaissance, pursuit, assault, and kidnapping against foreign residents in Turkey. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously warned Israel that it would face severe consequences if it attempted to assassinate Hamas members on Turkish soil. Unlike other countries like the UK, US, and EU, Turkey does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization and has maintained relations with its leaders, hosting some of them in the country. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have previously expressed their intention to target Hamas leaders regardless of their location. This announcement follows the recent death of Hamas's deputy political leader in Lebanon, which Hezbollah attributed to Israel. Videos of the Turkish raids displayed police entering flats, arresting suspects, and transporting them in police vehicles. This is not the first time that Turkish authorities have highlighted operations targeting alleged Mossad agents, as similar incidents have occurred in the past few years. Turkish public opinion strongly supports the Palestinian cause, and a significant anti-Israel rally took place in Istanbul on Monday.