Aliza Magen (Hebrew:עליזה מגן‎; 5 July 1937 – 14 April 2025), was an Israeli intelligence officer. She served in theMossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, for over 40 years from 1958 to 1999, participating in hundreds of covert operations, includingOperation Damocles,Operation Diamond, andOperation Wrath of God.

Aliza Magen
Native name	עליזה מגן
Birth name	Aliza Halevi[1]
Born	(1937-07-05)5 July 1937 Jerusalem,Mandatory Palestine
Died	14 April 2025(2025-04-14) (aged 87) Jerusalem, Israel
Allegiance	Israel
Service/ branch	Mossad
Years of service	1958–1999
Rank	Deputy Director
Spouse(s)	Avraham Magen (died 2011)

In 1990, she was named the Mossad's deputy director, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the agency's history. She served in this position under three Mossad directors until her retirement in 1999.

Magen was born to German immigrants inMandatory Palestine^[2] on 5 July 1937 and grew up in theRehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem.^[1][3][4] She married Avraham Magen, who died in 2011. The couple had no children.^[2]

After joining the Mossad in 1958,^[5] she became involved in hundreds of covert operations in Israel and abroad. In the 1960s, she participated inOperation Damocles for which she was sent to Salzburg, Austria, in 1962 to recruit a German scientist who was working for Egyptian PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser. She later worked at the Mossad station in Germany.^[6] Magen also participated inOperation Diamond, the Mossad operation to recruit Iraqi pilotMunir Redfa.^[7]

According to Magen, her reports attracted the attention of then-directorIsser Harel. Harel assigned Magen and Mossad officer Yehudit Nessyahu tolocate Yossele Schumacher, who had been abducted by hisHaredi Orthodox Jewish grandparents. Magen-Halevi convinced Ruth Ben David, who had smuggled Schumacher out of Israel, to reveal Schumacher's location.^[8] She was also involved inOperation Wrath of God, the Mossad's retaliation campaign after the 1972Munich massacre.^[3][4]

In 1980, Magen was appointed deputy head of the Tzomet Branch, then became head of the Administration Branch in 1984.^[7] Magen-Halevi was appointed deputy director of the Mossad in 1990^[9] and served under three successive Mossad directors:Shabtai Shavit,Danny Yatom, andEfraim Halevy.^[8][4] As deputy director, Magen took part in planning for a failed assassination ofHamas leaderKhaled Meshaal and approved the operation to install bugging devices in the Switzerland apartment ofHezbollah fundraiser Abdullah Zein.^[7]

She was publicly identified by the first letter of her name in a profile run byYediot Ahronot as part of Israel's newspaper wars of the 1990s. She was asked to stay on as deputy director whenEfraim Halevy was appointed director in March 1998.^[10] She retired the following year.^[4][5]

Magen was among the female Mossad operatives profiled by Israeli journalistsMichael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal in their 2021 bookThe Mossad Amazons.^[11]

Magen died in Jerusalem on 14 April 2025.^[a][1][4][5]

Upon her death, the Mossad released a statement saying, "The Mossad family bows its head in deep sorrow over the loss of our comrade Aliza – a respected, trailblazing and dedicated commander who devoted her life to the security of Israel and its citizens. Aliza was one of the pillars of the Mossad, and she left a profound mark on generations of agency personnel, who were trained according to her legacy and values."^[2]