The Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel, responsible for foreign intelligence gathering, intelligence analysis, and covert operations. The Mossad was formally established in December 1949 as the Institute for Co-ordination, following the recommendation of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion¹. The Mossad is known for its audacious and daring undercover operations, some of which are listed below:
- Nikita Khrushchev's speech capture (1956) - Mossad obtained a copy of the Soviet leader's speech denouncing Joseph Stalin and passed it on to the United States, embarrassing the USS
- Operation Garibaldi (1960) - Mossad located, identified, kidnapped and brought to Israel senior Nazi fugitive Adolf Eichmann, who was later tried and executed for his role in the Holocaust
- Assassination of Herberts Cukurs (1965) - Mossad assassinated the Latvian war criminal Herberts Cukurs in Montevideo, Uruguay, for his involvement in the mass murder of Jews during World War II
- Operation Diamond (1963-1966) - Mossad stole a Soviet-made MiG-21 fighter jet from Iraq and brought it to Israel, where it was studied and used to improve Israel's air superiority
- Wrath of God (1972-present) - Mossad launched a covert operation to assassinate individuals alleged to have been directly or indirectly involved in the 1972 Munich massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists. The operation targeted members of Black September and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
- Lillehammer affair (1973) - Mossad mistakenly killed an innocent Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, Norway, thinking he was Ali Hassan Salameh, the chief of operations for Black September. Most of the Mossad team was captured and tried for the murder, in a major blow to the agency's reputation
- Operation Entebbe (1976) - Mossad gathered intelligence that contributed to the rescue of 102 hostages who were hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and taken to Entebbe airport in Uganda. Israeli commandos raided the airport and freed most of the hostages, killing all the hijackers and several Ugandan soldiers
- Assassination of Yehia El-Mashad (1980) - Mossad killed the Egyptian nuclear scientist Yehia El-Mashad in Paris, France, for his involvement in the development of the Iraqi nuclear reactor
- Operation Opera (1981) - Mossad provided intelligence on the progress of Iraq's Tuwaitha nuclear reactor, which led to an Israeli air strike that destroyed it
- Operation Moses (1984-1985) - Mossad planned and executed the evacuation of some 8,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel from Sudan, where they faced persecution and famine
- Abduction of Mordechai Vanunu (1986) - Mossad abducted and brought back to Israel Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli nuclear technician who had fled to the United Kingdom and revealed nuclear secrets to the media. Vanunu was later convicted of treason and espionage and served 18 years in prison
These are some of the most notable operations carried out by the Mossad over its history. However, there are many more that remain classified or unconfirmed. The Mossad is widely regarded as one of the most effective and lethal spy agencies in the worldOperation Thunder was a covert operation carried out by the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The operation aimed to assassinate or capture Palestinian terrorists who were responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed during the Olympic Games.
The operation involved a team of Mossad agents who tracked down and eliminated the targets in various countries, such as France, Italy, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Norway. Some of the most notable assassinations were:
- Wael Zwaiter, a PLO representative in Rome, who was shot 12 times in the lobby of his apartment building on October 16, 1972.
- Mahmoud Hamshari, a PLO leader in Paris, who was killed by a bomb hidden in his phone on December 8, 1972.
- Hussein Al Bashir, a PLO official in Nicosia, who was killed by a bomb planted in his hotel room on January 24, 1973.
- Ali Hassan Salameh, the chief of operations for Black September, the group that carried out the Munich attack, who was killed by a car bomb in Beirut on January 22, 1979.
The operation was not without controversy and mistakes. In July 1973, Mossad agents mistakenly killed Ahmed Bouchiki, a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, Norway, who resembled Salameh. The agents were arrested and convicted of murder by a Norwegian court¹. The operation also sparked diplomatic tensions and reprisals from the PLO and its allies.
Operation Thunder was one of the most daring and controversial operations in Mossad's history. It demonstrated the agency's ability to penetrate enemy territory and carry out precise and lethal strikes. It also showed the agency's determination to avenge the Munich massacre and deter future attacks against Israel.
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