Less than one year since the drowning accident on Italy's Lake Maggiore that resulted in the death of four people, including an Israeli former Mossad official, a memorial plaque honoring two of the fatalities, members of the Italian intelligence service, is confirmation that the incident occurred amid an intelligence operation.
The 16-meter-long boat was sailing between Sesto Calende and Arona in May, when it capsized and sank in a violent storm. There were 23 people and two crew members on board.
The Italian La Repubblica newspaper reported that the plaque honoring 62-year old Romeo Alonzi and 53-year old Tiziana Barnovi reads that they had "lost their lives during a covert operation with colleagues from the security forces of a foreign nation."
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Plaque honoring Italian intelligence agents who died in 'covert op' with former Mossad member
(Photo: From La Repubblica)
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Mossad chief David Barnea at the funeral of a former member of the agency who died in Italy's drowning accident in 2023
(Photo: Tomer Shunem Halevi)
"Mossad mourns the loss and shares the family's grief, whom it will continue to support and embrace," the spy organization stated at the time of the accident.
In the wake of the tragic incident, Italian media speculated as to the circumstances of the intelligence agents' presence on the lake. La Repubblica reported at the time that they were conducting an operation against the "proliferation of non-conventional weapons" and that they had acted to prevent "hostile elements" from obtaining weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and especially nuclear weapons, biological weapons and advanced technologies used by civilian industries that can have military applications in weapons such as ballistic missiles.
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The boat that capsized in Lake Maggiore in 2023 killing a former member of Mossad and three others
(Photo: EFP )
"In my opinion they were celebrating an op that foiled an Iranian deal to purchase components connected to nuclear weapons, maybe for dual use, from an Italian company or from a shipment from a third country that arrived to Italy," the newspaper's deputy editor told the British Times newspaper at the time, adding that Italy could be a natural place for a meeting between Iranian buyers and the sellers of missile technology because it is accessible from countries like Austria and it is easy to mix among tourists to avoid detection.