Police officials stand amongst traffic as they patrol near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on April 7, 2026.Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Images

Gunmen open fire near Israeli consulate building in Istanbul – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

Three gunmen were involved in a shootout with police near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, leaving one attacker dead and two wounded and in custody, Turkish authorities said.

One of the attackers had links to an “organization that exploits religion,” said Turkish Minister of the Interior Mustafa Çiftçi in a statement. He later specified that the three “terrorists” had been “neutralized” during the clash with the police, with one suspect being killed while the other two — identified as brothers — were captured and wounded. The three men had traveled to Istanbul from nearby Izmit in a rental vehicle.

The case drew swift international condemnation. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack took to X, saying Washington “condemns in the strongest terms” the assault, comparing attacks on diplomatic missions to “an attack on the international order” and praising Turkish security forces for their response.