Sayeret Matkal General Staff Reconnaissance Unit is an elite special forces unit of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Its main roles are counter-terrorism, deep reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, but the unit is first and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, used to obtain strategic intelligence behind enemy lines. Sayeret Matkal is also in charge of hostage rescue missions outside Israeli borders. The unit is modeled on the British SAS, and organizationally reports to the Directorate of Military Intelligence. Its IDF nickname is simply "The Unit". Borrowed from the SAS, the unit's motto is "Who Dares Wins."

History

Sayeret Matkal was founded in 1957