Shayetet 13

Shayetet 13 (שייטת 13, lit. Flotilla 13) is the elite naval commando unit of the Israeli Navy. The unit is considered one of the primary Special Forces units elite units of the Israel Defense Forces (along with Sayeret Matkal and Shaldag Unit). S'13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, sabotage, maritime intelligence gathering, maritime hostage rescue, and boarding. The unit has taken part in almost all of Israel's major wars, as well as other actions. The unit is one of the most secretive in the Israeli military. The details of many missions and identities of active operatives are kept highly classified. The unit is arguably the best of the Middle East region´s naval special forces units, but S13 has also faced criticism for operational failures, and lack of the international operational experience as comparable US and European naval elite units.

Founding
Shayetet 13 is a veteran Israeli special forces unit. It was formed in 1949 by Yohai Ben-Nun with men drawn from the ranks of the Palyam, the naval branch of the Haganah. The need for such a dedicated unit was a matter of debate during the early years of the IDF, and the unit subsequently suffered size and budget restrictions. The existence of S'13 was only made public in 1960 and the general Israeli Navy insignia worn by members until then was replaced with the bat-winged insignia used at present.

Early years
During the 1956 Suez Crisis, Shayetet 13 commandos performed several failed reconnaissance missions before the campaign. They later participated in the land campaign as regular soldiers, and almost carried out a plan to capture an Egyptian Navy frigate. The plan was called off because the elite unit's soldiers were deemed too valuable to risk for low-priority targets.

On July 9, 1958, Shayetet 13 operatives infiltrated Beirut harbor in Operation Yovel. They were discovered, and a gunfight and chase ensued. The commandos were able to retreat without any casualties.

In August 1966, the unit was given the mission of retrieving the wreckage of a Syrian Air Force MiG that had been shot down and crashed into the Sea of Galilee. Near the end of the operation, Syrian troops opened fire, and the salvage rope attached to the aircraft was dropped. The Syrians were later able to pick it up and drag their aircraft to safety.

1967-1973
During the 1967 Six Day War, the unit was tasked with neutralizing enemy fleets. S'13 commandos infiltrated Port Said, but found no ships there, and during a raid into Alexandria, six divers were captured and taken prisoner, and released in January 1968. Several other missions also failed.

In July 1967, Shayetet 13 commandos crossed the Suez Canal and blew up an Egyptian rail line in two places. The operation was carried out in retaliation for Egyptian shelling.

Operation Barak was an Israeli naval mission to fly the flag in the Suez Canal carried out in July 1967, following Egyptian artillery attacks and firing on Israeli ships in the Suez Canal. S'13 participated in the operation. The operation was carried out in daylight, and the Egyptians opened fire from their positions, sinking a boat.

Operation Bulmus 6
In 1969 during the War of Attrition, the unit successfully carried out the Green Island raid in cooperation with Sayeret Matkal. Three of the six Israeli soldiers killed during the operation were S'13 operatives. The Egyptians lost about 80 killed.

War of Attrition
On September 7, 1969, Shayetet 13 carried out Operation Escort, raiding the Egyptian anchorage at Ras Sadat and destroying a pair of Egyptian P-183 torpedo-boats. Three operators were killed on the way back from the mission when one of their charges detonated. Escort, nevertheless, allowed the IDF to carry out Operation Raviv, a highly successful 10-hour raid on Egypt's Red Sea coast.

During the 1970s the unit underwent a rebuild with more emphasis placed on sea-to-land incursions and on effective training. More issues rose with other IDF SF units, which at the time suggested that that S'13 should only provide the transportation to the target and assistance in crossing water obstacles, while leaving the surface warfare to the other IDF SF units.

Operation Bardas 20 took place on January 14, 1971, to neutralize a guerilla base in Lebanon, near Sidon, where about two dozen militants were training as frogmen. During the operation, a number of buildings at the base were destroyed, and a number of guerillas were wounded, including commander Abu Youssef. During the course of the raid, the commandos discovered a house with several women in it, and decided not to blow it up.

S'13, Unit 707, and Sayeret Tzanhanim commandos jointly raided guerilla bases in Nahr al-Bared and Beddawi on February 19, 1973 in Operation Bardas 54-55. During the operation, about 40 guerillas were killed and 60 wounded, and a Turkish military trainer was taken prisoner.

Operation Wrath of God
S'13 took part in Operation Spring of Youth in 1973, in which Israeli special forces raided Beirut and killed several members of Black September, the group which had carried out the Munich Massacre of Israeli athletes in the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics.

Yom Kippur War
During the Yom Kippur War, S'13 commandos infiltrated Egyptian ports numerous times, sinking five Egyptian naval vessels and heavily damaging another. Two commandos went missing during one of the raids.

Lebanon
Following the Yom Kippur War, the S'13 carried out various missions against guerilla boats and those who assisted them, with mediocre success. During Operation Litani in 1978, S'13 carried out ambushes, killing a senior enemy commander in one of them. From 1979 to 1981, the unit carried out 22 successful raids against guerilla targets in Lebanon. The successes resulted in a unit decoration.

Following intelligence reports that a guerilla unit based south of the mouth of the Zaharani river in Ras a-Shaq, Lebanon, was preparing to carry out a kidnapping and "bargaining" operation on a community in northern Israel, S'13 commandos raided the base on April 19, 1980. During the raid, about 15 guerillas were killed, including the commander of the would-be infiltration unit and two of its members, and two structures were destroyed. Several commandos were wounded.

During the 1982 Lebanon War, Shayetet 13 commandos participated in creating a beach head at the mouth of the Awali river, enabling armor and infantry to land. The unit also carried out three raids on PLO targets in Beirut, and carried out several other raids and ambushes during the war.

From the early 1980s the unit became increasingly involved in the Lebanon conflict, demonstrating an excellent track record of dozens of successful operations each year, inflicting massive losses on Hezbollah, both in life and equipment. Typical missions at the time were interdiction of guerilla vessels, blowing up enemy headquarters and key facilities, conducting ambushes and planting explosives in guerilla routes. On November 25, 1988, the unit, along with other forces, conducted a raid on the base of PFLP-GC commander Ahmed Jibril. The IDF estimated that 20 guerillas were killed in the raid. However, several commandos were killed, and Jibril managed to escape.

Ansariya Ambush
On September 5, 1997, the unit suffered a major blow during a raid in Lebanon. A number of Shayetet 13 commandos landed on Lebanon's coast, south of Sidon between the towns of Loubieh and Ansariya. Speculataion about their mission was that they were trying to assassinate a senior Shia Muslim cleric of the Hezbollah movement. They landed in the dark early hours of that Friday and started moving inland. The army said the force had been "on its way to its mission" when it was struck by a powerful explosive device and came under fire from Hezbollah. The clash took place outside a 15-km deep security zone which Israel occupied in south Lebanon. The force's commander, Joseph Korakin, was killed in the first burst of fire. Israel immediately dispatched a rescue team in a giant CH-53 helicopter. A rescue force of helicopters and naval ships arrived, joining in a battle that lasted until dawn as the rescuers evacuated the dead. Mortar shells exploded nearby and shrapnel hit the CH-53, but it was able to take-off. In total 12 Israeli soldiers of Shayetet 13 were killed including their commander and an unknown number of injured. The unfound remains of the Israeli soldiers were returned to Israel on June 25, 1998 in a prisoner exchange deal. After 14 years the hezbollah organization revealed that they knew the position of the commandos in advance thanks to the interception of video footage broadcast by Israeli spy UAVs that were hovering over the area in the days before the mission. The soldiers were killed as a result of entering an orchard booby-trapped with bombs, that exploded when they entered.

Operation Moses
During the mid-1980s, Shayetet 13 played an active part in Operation Moses, which brought thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. After the Mossad had established a diving resort on the Sudanese coast to serve a conduit for Jews fleeing Ethiopia, Shayetet 13 operatives would arrive on dinghies at night to ferry the refugees to an Israel Navy boat waiting offshore.

Second Intifada
During the Second Intifada, S'13 soldiers took part in ground counter terror operations deep within the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. S'13 performed hundreds of operations, including the arrest and killing of members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The unit also participated in the Battle of Jenin. It earned high acclaim due to the successful capture of three Palestinian vessels which attempted to smuggle in weapons: Karine A, Santorini and Abu-Yusuf. The Karine A incident, in particular was considered a highly difficult operation. In 2004, their operations were temporarily suspended following a complaint from B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, that operatives had shot an unarmed Palestinian fighter for no reason. An investigation found that the commandos had good reason to assume the guerilla was concealing a grenade, and the unit was put back into action.

In 2002 and in 2003, S'13 won the Chief-of-Staff citation for successful counter terrorism operations.

2006 Lebanon War
On August 5, 2006, during the 2006 Lebanon War, S'13 commandos raided an apartment block in Tyre, claiming to have killed "a number of militants" and to have destroyed "several rocket-launchers", while suffering eight wounded. The Lebanese government claimed that one Lebanese soldier and "at least four civilians" were also killed in the operation.

Syria 2008
According to the Sunday Times, Shayetet 13 snipers on a yacht were responsible for the assassination of Syrian General Muhammad Suleiman. A cable released by Wikileaks revealed that France told the U.S. that Suleiman was probably killed as a result of rivalry within the Syrian regime. Maher al-Assad, brother of the Syrian president, was likely to have ordered the killing.

Operation Cast Lead
During Operation Cast Lead, which lasted from December 2008 to January 2009, Shayetet 13 commandos landed on the Gaza Strip coastline to strike Hamas targets on land. S'13 commandos were also reportedly involved in two Israeli airstrikes in Sudan against Iranian-supplied arms being smuggled into the Gaza Strip. The strikes hit a 17-truck convoy carrying arms, and an Iranian arms ship docking in Sudan.

Francop Affair
On 4 November 2009, the Antiguan-flagged vessel MV Francop, which had been carrying arms and munitions from Iran to Hezbollah, was successfully boarded and taken over by Shayetet 13 commandos. The commandos subsequently found the well-hidden weapons.

Gaza Flotilla Operation
On May 31, 2010, Shayetet 13 took part in Operation Sea Breeze or Operation Sky Winds against a flotilla trying to break the blockade of Gaza. The commandos, armed with non-lethal weaponry and 9mm pistols as sidearms, abseiled from helicopters and boarded from speedboats, and apprehended five ships with mostly passive resistance. Aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, the commandos were attacked by dozens of activists armed with knives, iron bars, slingshots and improvised weapons, and allegedly with firearms, including those seized from commandos. Three soldiers were captured, carried below deck, and were temporarily held in a passenger hall. The commandos initially used non-lethal force, but after this proved ineffective, they opened fire with live ammunition and seized control of the ship. Nine activists were killed, and several dozen were wounded. Seven commandos were also wounded, two of them seriously. International condemnation of the action followed. Subsequently, S'13 commandos boarded and seized the aid ship MV Rachel Corrie with no resistance.

Victoria Affair
On March 15, 2011, Shayetet 13 took part in "Operation Iron Law," conducted on the high seas against the Liberian-flagged, German-owned Victoria, a cargo vessel found to be carrying 50 tons of weapons which intelligence reports indicated had been consigned to Hamas. The Victoria was interdicted approximately 200 nautical miles from the Israeli coast, as it traveled from Turkey to El-Arish port in Egypt (other sources give the destination as Alexandria, Egypt). According to the Israel Defense Forces, Victoria loaded the cargo in the port of Latakia in Syria and sailed to Mersin, Turkey. The ship was intercepted by Israeli Navy Sa'ar 5-class corvettes and boarded by commandos from Shayetet 13, without resistance. The IDF has stated that the ship's crew was unaware it was carrying weapons, as they were concealed in 39 of the 100 containers on deck beneath bags of Syrian lentils and cotton. When seized by Shayetet 13, Victoria was redirected to the Port of Ashdod. There, further inspections were conducted and the contraband was unloaded. Israel then announced it would release the ship and allow Victoria to continue to the Egyptian port of Alexandria.

Organization
Shayetet 13 is divided into three specialized company-sized units (Hebrew: Pluga):
 * Raids (Plugat Haposhtim): Special Reconnaissance and Direct Action missions on land, Maritime Counter-Terrorism and Hostage Rescues.
 * Underwater: Underwater Attacks and Sabotage, Hydrographic (Beach) Reconnaissance, and Beachhead Reconnaissance and Security.
 * Above water: Surface Attacks, Sea Transportation of units to and from target areas.

Training
The training of Shayetet 13 recruits lasts 20 months, and is considered one of the toughest courses in the IDF. The training phases consist of:
 * Selection process. A selection camp to recruit for the unit is held twice a year. Cadets are put through physically and mentally challenging tests. Doctors and psychologists are at hand to prevent burnout and physical injury. This phase stresses psychological toughness, and tests recruits in their ability to take and operate under stress and fear.
 * Six months of basic and advanced infantry training with the Nahal Brigade.
 * Preparation phase: this phase lasts for three months and consists of advanced infantry and weapons training, parachute training, basic elements of maritime warfare, operation of small vessels, long swims, forced marches, and demolitions.
 * Four weeks of advanced training in combat diving. During this course, cadets learn the basics of combat diving, and how to cope with situations such as cold, darkness, clouded water, and how to survive high-risk underwater situations.
 * Dedicated phase. This phase of training lasts about a year and includes training in advanced diving techniques with close-circuit systems, underwater demolition, sea-to-land incursions via diving, ships, submarines, and parachuting into the sea. This phase includes a three-week course at the IDF counter-terrorism school. Cadets then train in maritime counter-terrorism operations, such as the boarding of vessels, oil rigs and near-coast buildings. During this phase, soldiers are divided between the three specialized units based on their capabilities and personal interests, and train on their future specialty.

During their training, cadets train extensively in Krav Maga, a hand-to-hand combat system which is Israel's national martial art. The training of the Shayetet 13 is one of the hardest military training phases in the world.

Shayetet 13 commandos continue to take part in training exercises, and participate in cross-training with foreign special units such as the US Navy SEALs.

Weaponry

 * AK-47
 * M4 carbine
 * M203 grenade launcher
 * Negev machine gun
 * Tavor assault rifle
 * Glock pistols

Other equipment

 * Limpet mines
 * Zodiac RHIB boats
 * Morena RHIB boats
 * Snunit fast attack craft

Cancer rate
In recent years, it was discovered that S'13 veterans had high occurrence of cancer, possibly due to training in the polluted Kishon River. A commission for investigating the matter did not find statistical evidence that diving in the Kishon caused cancer, however, Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz decided to compensate the divers' families despite the commission's findings.