Salute the Mossad’s Most Daring Missions

1. 1950s: The Mossad helped smuggle Jews out of several Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa to Israel, after they had been banned by their countries of origin from emigrating.

2. 1960: A team of Mossad agents captured former Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and smuggled him to Israel in a daring and clandestine operation. He then stood trial in Jerusalem for his crimes against humanity during the Holocaust, and was convicted and executed. He was the only Nazi leader tried directly by the Jewish nation, and his trial was a poignant moment in Israeli history.

3. 1960s: Mossad spy Eli Cohen infiltrated the highest levels of the Syrian government over a period of several years and became close friends with Syria’s President and other officials. Despite his eventual capture and execution in 1965, the intelligence he gathered was key to Israel winning the Six Day War two years later and capturing the Golan Heights.

4. 1967: The Mossad provided crucial intelligence to the IDF for the opening strikes of the Six Day War, which gave Israel the upper hand and allowed it to win so decisively.

5. 1976: The Mossad provided intelligence for one of the Israeli Defense Forces’ most famous missions, Operation Entebbe, which rescued Jewish and Israeli hostages held by terrorist hijackers at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda.

6. 1970s-1980s: Following an order by Prime Minister Golda Meir, Operation Wrath of God was launched, which aimed to assassinate those responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes and coaches by Palestinian terrorists - as both retaliation and to deter future attacks.

Mossad agents were dispatched all over the world to go after and eliminate members of the terror group Black September as well as certain PLO operatives. The agency also employed creative psychological warfare, such as publishing obituaries of still-living targets or sending condolence cards to family members right before a hit.

Part of this effort was also Operation Spring of Youth in 1973, in which a team of IDF special forces commandos and Mossad agents smuggled themselves into Lebanon and attacked several Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) targets, following months of Mossad surveillance. 

7. 1992-1993: The Mossad assisted in evacuating Bosnian Jews from war-torn Sarajevo to Israel.

8. August 2001: The Mossad advised the FBI and CIA in the United States that it had picked up intelligence of a large-scale terrorist attack being planned for US soil, though it is unclear whether the information was taken seriously. The World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked a month later in the September 11 attacks.

9. 2007: The agency uncovered a nuclear reactor being built in Syria, which was subsequently destroyed by the Israeli Air Force. This completely devastated Syria’s nuclear program and prevented the country from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon.

10. 2020s: Today, the Mossad is defending Israel from Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran, and other external attacks, in coordination with the rest of the Israel Defense Forces. The agency has spent years imbedding itself in Lebanon and Iran, gathering intelligence, conducting sabotage missions, and getting ready to strike at the most opportune moment or in coordination with IDF attacks.

In the fall of 2024, Israel's Mossad shocked and astounded the world with Operation Grim Beeper, in which thousands of beepers and walkie-talkies held by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously around Lebanon and Syria. The terror group suffered thousands of casualties and a devastating blow to their communication abilities, as it turned out that they had unknowingly purchased their devices directly from the Mossad itself, which had packed them with remotely operated explosives.

More recently, on June 13, 2025, the Mossad revealed itself inside Iran in coordination with the Israeli Air Force's Operation Rising Lion. The Israeli spy agency had actually been operating a clandestine drone base inside the country in addition to smuggling in weapons, and had sabotaged many of Iran's air defenses and missile launchers right as the IAF started bombing its nuclear facilities and other military targets. In doing so, the Mossad protected Israeli pilots and also ensured that Iran's retaliation against Israel's home front was much smaller than anticipated.

We hope you've enjoyed learning a bit about Israel's feared and admired Mossad!

If you love Israel’s famous intelligence service, shop Mossad and IDF gifts right at our store here! Check out our top 10 favorites, and wear Israel with pride every day of the year.