There was an unprecedented security presence in Turkish tourist hotspots on Tuesday evening as warnings continue of Iranian hit squads in the country seeking to murder Israelis, Channel 12 News reported on Tuesday evening.

The report added that an Israeli citizen claims that he narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt in Istanbul, saying that he physically fought off the potential kidnappers. Israeli and Turkish security officials are investigating the man’s claim, which follows the recent report of an Israeli couple who were whisked back to Israel on Friday after being informed that Iranian assassins were waiting for them at their hotel.

On Tuesday, the IDF ordered all soldiers currently in Turkey to immediately return to Israel and also revoked all permits allowing soldiers to visit Turkey or even stop in a Turkish airport for a connecting flight.

Meanwhile, at least 1,000 Israelis in Turkey have received personal warnings from Israeli security officials to immediately return to Israel.

Security officials are reportedly frustrated by the fact that thousands of Israelis aren’t heeding the travel warnings and continue to flock to Turkey, mainly due to their reluctance to lose the money they already invested in their vacations.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)