A gunman was killed and two others wounded in a shootout on Tuesday outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Turkish officials confirmed. Two police officers were also slightly injured during the incident, which unfolded around 12:15 pm (0915 GMT) in the Levent business district on the European side of the city.
Governor Davut Gul confirmed the death of one of the assailants. It remains unclear whether the Israeli consulate was the intended target. No Israeli diplomats were present in Turkey at the time, as missions across the region have been evacuated since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “treacherous attack” and vowed to fight all forms of terrorism, emphasizing that provocations would not harm Turkey’s security environment. The Israeli Foreign Ministry commended Turkish authorities for their swift response, stating that terrorism would not deter diplomatic missions.
Turkiye’s Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said the attackers arrived in a rented vehicle from Izmit, 86 kilometres (50 miles) away, and that one gunman had links to a terrorist organisation. The other two assailants were brothers, one with a prior drug record.
Eyewitnesses described gunfire breaking out suddenly, with panicked civilians and at least one police officer collapsing. Footage showed one attacker armed with an automatic rifle. The 10-minute shootout ended with the gunman killed and the remaining suspects detained.
Local media suggest the attack may be linked to Daesh, a group responsible for previous deadly attacks in Turkey, including a 2017 nightclub shooting in Istanbul that killed 39 people. Nationwide police operations against the group have been ongoing, with 125 suspects rounded up following a December attack in Yalova.
The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation, while the United States strongly condemned the attack as an assault on the international order.
