mosad

Mosad, officially Mossad le-Modi'in ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim, is the national intelligence agency of Israel. It is a separate agency within Israel's intelligence community, alongside Shin Bet (internal security) and Aman (military intelligence), and it reports to the Prime Minister. Mossad's mandate covers foreign intelligence collection, covert operations abroad, and counterterrorism aimed at safeguarding Israel's national security.

Established in 1949 by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, the organization evolved from earlier pre-state intelligence groups into a global intelligence service. Its role is to gather foreign intelligence, recruit agents, carry out clandestine actions, and support Israeli diplomatic and security objectives by providing strategic insights.

Mossad operates worldwide, using human intelligence, signals intelligence, cyber capabilities, and covert operations. It conducts espionage, covert action, and counterterrorism, often focusing on state actors and non-state groups that threaten Israeli interests. Public information about specific activities is limited due to secrecy, and some operations are officially acknowledged only long after the fact.

The Mossad has been involved in high-profile operations that have entered public history, such as the 1960 capture of Adolf Eichmann and various long-term intelligence campaigns. The agency's activities have occasionally sparked controversy, including allegations of extraterritorial killings and covert influence, which remain contested and subject to debate by governments and scholars. As with other intelligence services, much of its work remains classified.