In the news: Istanbul governor Davut Gül overseeing security after the near-Israeli Consulate attack; Turkish bureaucrat trained in Intl Relations (Near East Univ).
On April 7, 2026, three armed attackers engaged in a gunfight with Turkish police outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul's Levent district. One attacker was killed, two wounded and captured. Two police officers sustained minor injuries. No Israeli diplomats were present, as diplomatic ties have been frozen since late 2023 following the Gaza conflict. The attackers reportedly had links to a religious extremist group, possibly ISIS.