Yamam

Also known as Israeli CTU, Israel's National Counter Terror Unit

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.

Key facts

Law enforcement unit.motto: אֶרְדּוֹף אוֹיְבַי וְאַשִּׂיגֵם, וְלֹא אָשׁוּב עַד כַּלּוֹתָם(I will pursue my enemies and I will overtake them, and I will not return until they are destroyed) (Psalm 18:37)
Law enforcement unit.significant_operations: Israeli–Palestinian conflict First Intifada Second Intifada Gaza war
Law enforcement unit.unit_name: Centralized Special Unit / Israel's National Counter-Terror Unit
Law enforcement unit.native_name: YAMAM ימ"מ
Law enforcement unit.image: Magav-Facebook--Yamam-0009.jpg
Law enforcement unit.image_size: 300px
Law enforcement unit.caption: Yamam officers in full gear during raid training, armed with M4A1 carbines and operating police dog (K9)
Law enforcement unit.country: Israel
Law enforcement unit.type: Police tactical unit
Law enforcement unit.agency: Israel Police
Law enforcement unit.command_structure: Israel Border Police
Law enforcement unit.dates: 1974–present
Law enforcement unit.role: Domestic counter-terrorism, hostage rescue and law enforcement
Law enforcement unit.sworn_type_label: Operators
Law enforcement unit.sworn: ≈200 officers

via Wikipedia infobox

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

9 sections

Contents

History
Operational record after the Second Intifada
Operational record during Operation Breakwater (2022–2023)
Operational record during the Hamas led-attack on October 7, 2023, and afterwards
Selection and training
Honors
See also
References
External links

==History== thumb|400px|YAMAM operators in a special visit by Israeli officials, 2017 thumb|300px|YAMAM snipers with [[Barrett MRAD and ghillie suits during a counter-terror/hostage-rescue demonstration in the Israel Border Police's training base.]] The Yamam was established in late 1974 after the Ma'alot massacre, where a failed rescue operation by the Sayeret Matkal commando unit of the Israel Defense Forces resulted in the murder of 21 schoolchildren before the hostage takers were killed.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Yamam” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.