How Israel’s Sayeret Matkal Are Trained for Gaza Hostage Scenario

The Israeli special forces’ Sayeret Matkal unit is on standby to try to rescue nearly 200 hostages taken by Hamas militants, it has been reported.

That division and the Yamam special forces of Israel’s national police will be involved in the difficult operation to free Israeli and foreign nationals being held in locations across Gaza that are being defended by Hamas fighters, The Telegraph said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also said the U.S. has “people on the ground” who will assist Israeli authorities “with intelligence and planning” for potential hostage rescue efforts. Meanwhile, advisers from the U.S. intelligence community will assist an American special operations team assigned to the U.S. embassy in Israel, according to The Messenger.

People in Tel Aviv paste pictures of those abducted by Hamas in this image taken on October 14, 2023. Nearly 200 hostages were seized by Hamas in its attack on southern Israel. YAHEL GAZIT/Getty Images

But key to any rescue will be the special reconnaissance division that is considered one of the premier special force units of Israel.

Sayeret Matkal specializes in hostage rescue and reconnaissance missions and it can count Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among its veterans. Founded in 1957, the group has taken part in every major conflict involving Israel, although its existence was only officially acknowledged in the 1980s.

The unit is perhaps best known for its role in the 1976 Entebbe airport raid in Uganda, when its commandos saved 100 Israelis from Palestinian hijackers. Netanyahu’s older brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, who commanded the unit during the raid, was killed in the operation.

The unit has also suffered major setbacks, such as the Ma’alot Massacre in 1974, when an attempt to rescue hostages in an elementary school saw 22 children killed by Palestinian militants. In response, Israel created the Yamam special forces unit and ordered Sayeret Matkal to focus on overseas hostage situations.

Sayeret Matkal is modeled on the British Army’s Special Air Service (SAS), taking its motto, “Who Dares Wins.” Like the U.K. unit, it makes recruits undertake a gruelling selection process that includes paratrooper training, instruction in light weapons, hostage rescue tactics and surviving behind enemy lines.

Recruits also go through a two-week period of simulated captivity where they are mistreated and interrogated, according to The Times of Israel.

With the current crisis in Gaza unfolding, Israeli special forces expert Aaron Cohen told Fox News that the mission to get the hostages from Gaza would be “extremely dangerous” and would be conducted “via the smokescreen which will be connected to the major offensive Israel is preparing for right now.”

Hamas has already threatened to begin executing its prisoners in response to Israeli strikes on Gaza that were not preceded by a warning, and a rescue mission runs the risk of the hostages being killed by their captors.

There are also reports that the captives are being used as human shields across the enclave that Hamas controls and that they are located in tunnels, apartment buildings and probably at military sites.

On Monday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said there were 199 hostages, including children, women, the elderly and the disabled. Many are Israelis, but there are dual nationals, so other governments, including the U.S., France and the U.K. have a stake in their safe release.

Avner Avraham, a former Mossad officer, told The Telegraph that with such a large number of hostages, “it’s not easy to hide them.” He said that Israel may have information regarding their whereabouts, but it will be “very difficult” to secure their release, and the operation “will take time and we will lose people, unfortunately.”