Turkish media recently reported that Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader, was assassinated by a mysterious Mossad agent named ‘Amit Nakesh’ — a name that oddly sounds Indian, reports Eurasian Times.
Israeli social media users, known for creating fake posts featuring invented names and stories about imaginary Israeli soldiers and Mossad agents, seem to have played a part in this situation.
The Turkish media appears to have picked up on these fabricated stories and mistakenly reported that an agent named Amit Nakesh was responsible for the assassination, creating a fictitious character in the process.
The reports even went as far as to profile this fictional Mossad agent.
The report noted that certain outlets, including Usak Olay, went so far as to provide a detailed background for the supposed agent, claiming he was a former IDF officer with expertise in specialized operations and had been part of a covert intelligence unit.
The Akdeniz Gerçek Gazetesi from Antalya reportedly stated, “After his military service, Nakesh joined the Mossad and has participated in high-profile operations”.
“An expert in assassinations and recruiting intelligence sources, Nakesh took part in several operations against elements whom Israel considers hostile”, he added.
The paper suggested that Nakesh could be of Indian Jewish descent due to the commonality of his first name, Amit, in India, but Turkish media later removed all references to him after realizing it was a joke.
Middle East in Flux: Impact of Two Key Assassinations
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on July 31 in an assassination widely attributed to Israel's Mossad, though Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
The assassination has escalated regional tensions, particularly due to its occurrence on Iranian soil, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing retaliation and instructing forces to “strike Israel directly.”
In response to the assassination, Hamas spokesperson Khalil Al-Hayya claimed that Haniyeh was killed by a rocket while in his room, and vowed that Israel would “pay the price” for this “heinous crime.”
Haniyeh was killed less than twenty hours after Israel's air raid on Beirut killed Hezbollah’s top military leader, Fuad Shukr, with Israel claiming the strike was in retaliation for a missile attack on the Golan Heights.
Thousands of pro-Hamas demonstrators took to the streets of central Istanbul late at night to protest the death of Ismail Haniyeh.