Sayeret Matkal (Hebrew: סיירת מטכ"ל - General Staff Reconnaissance unit) is the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). It was established in 1964 as of the Paratroopers Brigade's Sayeret (890th Battailon) and the IDF's Intelligence Branch (Aman). 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 strategically important intelligence far behind enemy lines. Sayeret Matkal is also in charge of hostage rescue missions outside of Israel's borders. The unit is modeled on the British SAS, and organizationally reports to Aman. Its IDF nickname is simply "The Unit". The unit's motto is "Who Dares Wins" (same as the SAS motto).
The unit is best known for Operation Thunderbolt, more commonly but mistakenly known as Operation Entebbe, in which it rescued more than 100 Air France airline passengers hijacked and flown to Uganda by PLO terrorists, losing only the unit commander, Yonatan Netanyahu, to enemy gunfire.