An agent of Israel’s Mossad, identified as “M”, was killed abroad during operations against Iran, Mossad Director David Barnea said on Tuesday during an Israeli Remembrance Day ceremony for the organization's fallen.
The agent played a major role in collecting intelligence related to Israel’s wars on Iran in June 2025 and earlier this year.
“The operations led by M combined creativity, cunning, and technology and significantly influenced the success of the campaign against Iran,” Barnea said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Barnea did not specify who M was, but Israeli media reported that the Mossad director was referring to Agent M, who died in Italy in May 2023 after his boat sank in Lake Maggiore, north of Milan, near the Swiss border.
It turned out that 21 members of the vessel, 11 Mossad agents and 10 members linked to Italian intelligence, had spent time working together in a house that was a Mossad base in Italy.
The agents took an old boat owned by Claudio Carminati and his Russian wife. During the voyage, a few hundred meters from the shore, a storm suddenly broke out, overturned the boat and caused it to sink. Two Italians, one Russian and one Israeli were killed, including the captain’s wife.
“During Operation Roaring Lion, my heart filled with pride for M’s character and actions. The operations they commanded combined creativity, cunning, and advanced technology, significantly influencing the success of the operation against Iran,” Barnea stated.
He did not specify who M was, when he died, or during which incident. The Mossad director also did not say where M died, only noting that it was outside of Israel.
Following the Lake Maggiore incident in May 2023, Italian media, including reports from La Repubblica, identified M as Erez Shimoni.
The other Israelis reportedly on the vessel were said to have been quickly flown back to Israel on a private jet known to be used by Israeli authorities. All the registration documentation of the Israelis at the hotel where they stayed disappeared.
