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Italian media reported on Tuesday that 10 Israelis who survived a boat capsize on an Italian lake over the weekend were rushed to "Israel" aboard a military jet, amid circulated reports that the majority of those on board were former or present intelligence officers.

On Sunday, Italian media said a tourist boat on Italy's Lake Maggiore capsized reportedly due to a sudden whirlwind, killing four passengers, including a 50-year-old Israeli.

The Israeli news website Walla cited Italian reports as saying that 18 of the 20 survivors were former or present intelligence agents who were swiftly escorted out of hospitals and hotels "so as not to leave a trace."

#Varese, imbarcazione ribaltata nel lago Maggiore: recuperato il corpo senza vita della quarta persona, l’ultima delle quattro segnalate come disperse. Concluse le operazioni di ricerca da parte dei #vigilidelfuoco, inizia il recupero dell'imbarcazione [#29maggio 8:00] pic.twitter.com/NZAcdBe77r

— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) May 29, 2023

According to the Israeli occupation's Foreign Ministry, the killed Israeli man, identified as Shimoni Erez, was a retired Mossad officer. Israeli Channel 12 said the man had only lately retired.

Italy’s security services indicated that the two others that were killed were a 62-year-old Italian male and a 53-year-old Italian female who work in the intelligence services.

It claimed in a statement that "the two employees, belonging to the intelligence department, were taking part in a convivial meeting organized to celebrate the birthday of one of the group."

Israeli media suggested that the former Israeli intelligence officer became friends with the Italians through work.

Israeli Channel 12 previously described the boat capsize and the death of the retired Mossad agent as a "seemingly mysterious" event.