Israel kills three Turkish citizens attempting to cross from Lebanon to Israel

Duvar English

The Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry on Jan. 29 announced that three Turkish citizens, who had been missing for 18 days, were killed in an Israeli airstrike while attempting to "cross illegally from Lebanon into Israel."

In a statement, the ministry said, "The necessary procedures are underway to repatriate their bodies to Türkiye as soon as possible. We condemn in the strongest terms this unlawful attack that resulted in the death of our citizens. As we have emphasized on every occasion, Israel must immediately end its aggressive policies that disregard human life and escalate tensions in our region."

Hüseyin Kaya, a 53-year-old construction worker from Kırşehir’s Kaman district, along with his colleagues Çınar Alp Baydenk and Sezer Özdemir had reportedly traveled to Israel in an attempt to claim unpaid wages from previous employment.

On Jan. 9, the trio departed from Istanbul to Lebanon. Contact with them was lost on Jan. 11, as they attempted to cross the Lebanese-Israeli border illegally.

It was later revealed that the three men had previously entered Israel illegally under false identities and had worked there for two to three years before being deported. This time, they were again attempting to enter Israel from Lebanon with allegedly similar intends.

Their last known location was the Lebanese side of the border near Mount Dov and the Shebaa Farms region. On Jan. 11, Israeli media reported that three unidentified individuals attempting to cross the border were "neutralized" in an Israeli Defense Forces airstrike.

Following speculation that the individuals might be Turkish citizens, Turkey’s embassies in Beirut and Tel Aviv reached out to local authorities.

According to official sources, a group of about 20 people—comprised of various nationalities—attempted to cross into Israel illegally through Lebanon. The group was allegedly working with an international human smuggling network, which had directed them to specific crossing points using live location tracking.

The Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry later confirmed that Özdemir, Kaya, and Baydenk were killed in an Israeli drone strike on the Lebanese border on the evening of Jan. 11. The families of the deceased have filed criminal complaints against the human traffickers involved.