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Special forces units in the Israel Defense Forces encompass a broad definition of specialist units. Such units are usually a regiment or a battalion in strength.
Sayeret [1] (Hebrew : סיירת, pl.: sayarot), or reconnaissance units in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) nomenclature, specialize in intelligence gathering and surveillance. In practice, these units specialize in commando and other special forces roles, in addition to reconnaissance (the degree of specialization varies by units and current needs).
Mista'arvim (Hebrew : מסתערבים, lit. Arabized; Arabic : مستعربين, Musta'arabin), also spelled as mistaravim, are counter-terrorism units whose members are specifically trained to operate undercover, in enemy territory, in order to assassinate or capture wanted targets.
Commando Unit 101, the founding Israeli special forces unit, was established and commanded by Ariel Sharon on orders from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in August 1953. [2] They were armed with non-standard weapons and tasked with carrying out retribution operations across the state's borders – in particular, establishing small unit maneuvers, activation and tactical insertion and exit tactics.
Members of the unit were recruited only from agricultural Kibbutzim and Moshavim. Membership in the unit was by invitation only, and any new member had to be voted on by all existing members before they were accepted. [3]
The unit was merged into the 890th Paratroop Battalion during January 1954, on orders of General Dayan, Chief of Staff, because he wanted their experience and spirit to be spread among all infantry units of IDF starting with the paratroopers. They are considered to have had a significant influence on the development of subsequent Israeli special forces units. [4]
All combat brigades in the IDF have a unit with improved weaponry and training used for reconnaissance and special forces missions, trained to use advanced weapons and reconnaissance technology, as well as hand-to-hand combat. Historically the brigades used to only have one company-sized unit outfitted to do this job, known as Palsar (Hebrew contraction of: פלוגת-סיור, Plugat Siyur (singular) / Plugot Siyur (plural), "Reconnaissance Company"). Although the Palsar are mostly oriented at battlefield support (which is their raison d'être), many have participated in special operations during recent years. All infantry units as well as some armored units have Palsar. While in the past there were differences between the Siyur units, due to the experiences of the past decades the IDF is now consolidating them into larger units with many different capabilities: battalion-sized units called Gadsar (contraction of Gdud Siyur, "Reconnaissance battalion"). Each Gadsar is made up of three specialized Plugot (companies): demolitions and combat engineering (Plugat Habalah Handasit, or Palhan), reconnaissance (Plugat Siyur, Palsar) and anti-tank (Pluga Neged Tankim, or Palnat).
On late December 2015, some Ground Force special forces units have been assembled in the Oz Brigade. [5] [6]
Other SF units or Sayaret are larger units, operating directly under the General Staff. They are tasked with the most sensitive missions but they also support other conventional and SF units, if needed. Those units are Sayeret Matkal, Shayetet 13 and Shaldag.
These are the most well-known reconnaissance units. Their operators are proficient in long range solo navigation, as opposed to other special forces units in the IDF where long range navigation is done with a minimum of 2 operators.
The regular five infantry brigades (Golani, Givati, Nahal, Kfir and the Paratroopers) operate their own Palsars, today joint with Pal'nat and Pal'han to form a "Gad'sar/G'dud Siur", or Reconnaissance Battalion. Each unit is subordinate to a specific brigade command, though they are not restricted to it.
Commando Unit 101 was a Sayeret unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), founded and commanded by Ariel Sharon on orders from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in August 1953. They were armed with non-standard weapons and tasked with carrying out retribution operations across the state's borders—in particular, establishing small-unit maneuvers, activation and insertion tactics.
General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, more commonly known as Sayeret Matkal, is the special reconnaissance unit (sayeret) of Israel's General Staff (matkal). It is considered one of the premier special forces units of Israel.
Yamam, also known as National Counter-Terrorism Unit, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, one of four special units of the Israel Border Police. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids against terrorist targets in civilian areas. Besides military and counter-terrorism duties, it also performs tactical unit duties and undercover police work.
The 35th "Paratroopers" Brigade is a brigade of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) consisting of airborne infantry. It forms a major part of the Israeli Ground Forces' Infantry Corps, and has a history of carrying out special operations from the 1950s onwards. Soldiers of the brigade wear maroon berets with the Infantry Corps pin and russet boots.
Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu was an Israeli military officer who commanded Sayeret Matkal during the Entebbe raid. The raid was launched in response to the 1976 hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight from Israel to France by Palestinian and German militants, who took control of the aircraft during a stopover in Greece and diverted it to Libya and then to Uganda, where they received support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Though Israel's counter-terrorist operation was a success, with 102 of the 106 hostages being rescued, Netanyahu was killed in action – the only Israeli soldier killed during the crisis.
Yahalom is a sayeret unit of the Israeli Combat Engineering Corps of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The name "Yahalom", while meaning 'diamond' in Hebrew, is also an abbreviation of "Special Operations Engineering Unit".
Unit 621, otherwise known as Sayeret Egoz, is an elite Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commando unit specializing in guerrilla warfare, special reconnaissance, and direct action (military). It is a part of the IDF Central Command's 89th Brigade.
The 900th "Kfir" Brigade, is the youngest and largest infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. It is subordinate to the 99th "Flash" Infantry Division (Reserve) of Israel's Central Regional Command.
Shayetet 13 is a unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary reconnaissance units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, sabotage, maritime intelligence gathering, maritime hostage rescue, and boarding. The unit is trained for sea, air and land actions. The unit has taken part in almost all of Israel's major wars, as well as other actions.
Unit 5101, more commonly known as Shaldag, is one of the premier Israeli Air Force (IAF) Sayeret units. The unit is part of the 7th Special Air Forces Wing and is based in the Palmachim Airbase. The unit is led by an officer at the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Reconnaissance Battalion 934 or Gadsar Nahal is the special forces unit or Reconnaissance battalion of the Nahal Brigade. The battalion is divided into three companies: the Sayeret/Palsar, the Palhan, and the Palnat/Orev.
Maglan is a sayeret (reconnaissance) unit of the Israeli Defense Forces, which specializes in operating behind enemy lines and deep in enemy territory using advanced technologies and weaponry. Though Maglan is part of the IDF's Commando Brigade, its operators undergo basic training with the Paratroopers Brigade.
The 89th "Oz" Brigade is a brigade of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), dedicated entirely to special operations. It was established in December 2015. The new brigade, dubbed the Commando Brigade, is composed solely of infantry special-operations units removed from their previous chain of command structures to create a new tactical formation. Commanded by Aluf Mishne (Colonel) Avi Blut, the brigade operates as part of the 98th Division.
Metzada Unit is the Israel Prison Service (IPS) tactical unit tasked with detection and arrest of escaped prisoners, hostage rescue, special operations, support operation for other IPS units during raids at correctional facilities, tactical prison riot, and VIP protection. The Metzada Unit is one of five hostage rescue units in Israel.
LOTAR Eilat is an IDF special force unit whose mission is to protect the safety of the residents and tourists of Eilat against terrorism and is also specialized in hostage rescue operations. Unlike the other units within the Israeli army, Lotar Eilat is made up of reservists between the ages of 20 and 60 who live in southern Israel and volunteer to protect their city. In their regular service in the army, they were part of different elite units. Afterwards, they took advantage of their training and experience to be part of this special operations team.
The LOTAR Unit,, is a counter-terrorism special forces (sayeret) unit within the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), also known as Unit 707 or The Counter-Terror School. LOTAR is a portmanteau of Hebrew: לוחמה בטרור, romanized: Lochama Be'Terror, lit. 'Combating terrorism'.