- Israel’s most elite special operations force, Sayeret Matkal, is being prepped for
extremely dangerous hostage-rescue missions in the Gaza Strip. - Sayeret Matkal, also called General Staff Reconnaissance Unit 269, is an elite commando
unit of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). - The unit was established in 1957 at the initiative of its first commander, Avraham Arnan.
- It is modelled on the UK’s Special Air Service, or SAS, a Special Forces unit of the British
army, taking the unit’s motto “Who Dares Wins”. - Sayeret Matkal is a field intelligence-gathering unit that conducts deep reconnaissance
behind enemy lines and is also tasked with counter-terrorism and hostage rescue
beyond Israel’s borders. - It Is directly subordinate to the Special Operations Branch of the IDF’s Directorate of
Military Intelligence. - Israel only acknowledged its existence in the 1980s.
- They have been known to work in conjunction with other elite Israeli units such as
Sayeret Tzanhanim, Flotilla 13, and Sayeret Golani.
