April 07, (THEWILL) — Security forces successfully neutralised attackers during a violent incident near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, leaving one person dead and four others injured.
Istanbul Governor, Davut Gul, confirmed that three individuals armed with long-barrelled rifles and pistols carried out the attack.
“All three have been neutralised. One was apprehended dead, while two others were apprehended injured”, he said. Two police officers were also injured while confronting the assailants, who arrived at the consulate by car.
Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci confirmed that authorities have identified the attackers.
According to his statement posted on X, one had links to an organisation that exploits religion, while another had a drug-related record. The perpetrators’ identities have not been publicly disclosed.
Video from DHA news agency captured loud gunfire outside the consulate in Istanbul’s Levent district around 12:30 PM local time, while Haberturk TV broadcast footage of heavily armed security forces sweeping the area and ambulances attending to the injured. Levent is a major financial and business district, home to high-rise offices, banks, and multiple foreign consulates.
The attack comes amid strained Israel-Turkey relations following ongoing hostilities in Gaza. While diplomatic ties remain, both countries maintain a minimal presence in each other’s territories, with no Israeli diplomats currently stationed in Turkey, either at the Istanbul consulate or the Ankara embassy.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek confirmed that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a full investigation and assigned three public prosecutors to the case.
“Our public prosecutors promptly proceeded to the scene and began their examination,” he said in a statement posted on X.
International reaction was swift. US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, condemned the attack, stating, “Attacks on diplomatic missions are attacks on the international order.”
Protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza and across the Middle East occasionally occur outside the consulate but are typically peaceful.
The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, a charity known for organising anti-Israel and anti-US demonstrations, announced plans for a protest march on Wednesday evening against “atrocities committed by Israel and the US in Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iran.”
Officials, however, confirmed that there is no evidence linking the IHH to Tuesday’s shooting, and it remains unclear if authorities will allow the march to pass in front of the consulate.
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