Former Israeli Hospital Spokesperson Reveals Mossad Coordinated Secret Medical Rescue That Saved Turkish President Erdogan Life

Former Ichilov Hospital spokesman Avi Shoshan told a Channel 14 panel that Israel dispatched an unnamed senior physician from Tel Aviv's Ichilov Medical Center to treat Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan roughly six to seven years ago after Erdogan developed a serious, undisclosed illness that outlets characterized variously as critical illness or cancer 123. Shoshan said the mission was requested by the Mossad and approved by then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that the physician traveled "on behalf of the State of Israel" 23. Shoshan declined to name the doctor and offered no documentary evidence, and there has been no confirmation from the Israeli government, Mossad, Turkish officials, or the physician allegedly involved 24. The claim follows a January 2022 report by media analyst Adir Yanko that Erdogan received medical consultation from Ichilov's then-deputy director Prof. Itzhak Shapira, though those earlier reports made no mention of a covert Mossad rescue 134.