In the fifth season finale, "Judgment Day (Part 2)", Ziva's liaison position is terminated under the orders of newly appointed Director Leon Vance following the death of Director Shepard. "Last Man Standing", the sixth season premiere, picks up with her having resumed working as a Mossad field agent and undercover in Morocco. After Gibbs notices footage of an unconscious Ziva on the news following an explosion where she was working, it is soon revealed that Vance had deliberately sent Ziva back to Israel in order to help uncover a mole within NCIS itself. She returns to the team at the conclusion of the episode.