A vessel that sank on Lake Maggiore with four fatalities, May 2023 (Italian fire and rescue services)
An elite agent of the Israeli Mossad spy agency who died in an apparent boat accident in Italy around three years ago led operations that contributed to Israel’s recent successes against Iran, spy chief David Barnea revealed on April 21.
The agent, identifiable only by the first Hebrew letter of his name, “Mem,” was among four people who drowned when a boat capsized in Lake Maggiore in Italy’s Lombardy region
The incident took place on the evening of May 28, 2023. At the time, regional officials claimed that a “whirlwind” made the 52-foot boat overturn and sink, while Italian investigators said a sudden change in weather appeared to be the cause of the accident, ruling out any foul play.
Another factor may have been the fact that the boat, named the Gooduria, was said to be carrying eight more people than its 15-person limit at the time of the incident.
The survivors either swam to shore or were rescued by other boats. Ten serving Israeli intelligence agents were evacuated from hospitals and put on a military plane back to Tel Aviv. They reportedly left in such a hurry that they left behind their rental car on the lakeside.
The Mossad agent killed in the incident was named by Italian media as 50-year-old Erez Shimoni, which is believed to be an alias. His real identity was not officially publicized, but is publicly available on official Israeli memorial sites.
Italian security services also acknowledged at the time that two other casualties, 62-year-old Claudio Alonzi, and 53-year-old Tiziana Barnobi, were their intelligence agents.
The fourth casualty was 50-year-old Russian citizen Anna Bozhkova. She is understood to be the wife of Claudio Carminati, the captain of the tourist boat that sank. Carminati was later sentenced to four years in a plea deal over the deaths of his passengers.
“On this day,” Barnea said during a Memorial Day ceremony at Mossad headquarters, “I think about the fallen Mossad members and their choice to contribute over the years to Israel’s security.”
“During Operation Roaring Lion, my thoughts and heart were filled with pride in the person and work of ‘Mem,’ who fell outside of Israel while fulfilling his duties,” he continued, referring to the recent war with Iran.
“The operation led by ‘Mem’ combined creativity, cunning, and advanced technology and significantly influenced the success of the campaign against Iran,” Barnea added.
While some Italian and Hebrew media reports described the gathering on the boat at the time as a celebration, others reported that it was a working meeting of intelligence agents.
In any case, the level of the agents involved in the incident suggests that what happened may have been the result of sabotage. It is clear, however, that there is still no evidence supporting this.
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