Mossad delivers 100,000 Coronavirus tests to Israel from unknown country
Israel’s secret intelligence service, the Mossad, has delivered 100,000 Coronavirus test kits to Israel from “a country with which Israel does not maintain diplomatic relations,” Israeli sources say.
Illustration of a women at the Mossad Israeli secret intelligence service. Oct 03, 2017. Photo by Kobi Richter/TPS.
An additional five million tests will reportedly be purchased by the Mossad in the coming days.
Speaking on IDF Radio on Thursday, Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar-Siman-Tov, confirmed that Israel had received the tests, adding that he thought it was “great” that “the State of Israel knows how to use all available means” to cooperate and face this “monumental challenge.”
Israel is in need of tests for the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), especially after the Magen David Adom (Israel’s equivalent to the Red Cross) announced it would be opening drive-thru-style testing centres in multiple cities across the country.
With mass-testing to begin and Israel purchasing additional Coronavirus tests, Israel will soon have the highest per capita rate of Covid-19 testing throughout the world.
However, the Ministry of Health’s Deputy Director-General Itamar Grotto told Ynet News that “unfortunately, what they brought is not exactly what we were missing,” stating that of the various components needed in the tests, the Mossad did not deliver the ones needed.
Israeli media investigations confirmed that the tests had been lawfully purchased by the intelligence agency.
The key to the espionage agency’s involvement is most likely due to political and diplomatic pressure, with the country supplying the tests either not wishing to establish an official trade relationship with Israel or leaders unwilling to face national scrutiny over the sale of such tests at a time of crisis.
After scouting multiple options around the world, the Mossad eventually purchased tests from two countries, it was reported.
Israel on Thursday morning had 529 confirmed cases of Coronavirus. 498 were light, 13 moderate, and 6 in serious condition. 12 Israelis have recovered from the virus.
