Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced on Friday that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the detention of 15 people suspected of spying for Israel. The 15 arrested are part of a larger group of 34 people suspected of espionage.

Yilmaz’s announcement says that the 15 suspects were detained following an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for political or military espionage against Türkiye. They have been referred to the Criminal Court of Peace.  He went on to say that eight of the suspects would handed over to the Provincial Immigration Administration for deportation.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya elaborated that the suspects were caught during a Turkish “MOLE” operation carried out by the country’s intelligence agencies in eight provinces, including Istanbul. The suspects were reported to have been carrying out espionage activities for the Israeli intelligence agency known as Mossad, according to state-run media platform Anadolu. Yerlikaya asserts that the suspects were working with the Israeli Intelligence Service to “discover, assault, kidnap” foreign nationals residing in Turkey.

The arrests come amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. Türkiye has historically stood in support of Palestine, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticizing Israel’s “oppression of Turkey’s Palestinian brothers and sisters.” The country began slowly rebuilding relations with Israel, but this halted after the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent siege of Gaza. Erdogan reiterated Turkish support of Palestine at the 39th Ministerial Session of COMCEC, a standing group in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, stating, “we must display a very clear stance against Israel’s policies of depopulating Gaza. I would like to once again remind the Israeli administrators, who pursue different ambitions, of the fact that Gaza is a Palestinian land”.

In December, Israeli media published recordings of security officials saying that Israel was determined to eliminate Hamas leaders “in every location in the world.” Israel’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on these arrests and allegations.