(gun firing) - [Narrator] It was a daring mission to save hostages trapped in a war zone. The daylight raid that rescued four Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza opened a window to a world of espionage. (arsenal firing) The rescue, which left at least a hundred dead, is just one among a string of undercover operations captured on video. (engaging music) The Journal sat down with Shir Peled, one of the first female undercover officers to work with Yamas, a specialist unit within the Israeli border police. - Our job as undercover fighters is to always come up with new tactical methods to fight in and to blend in the fields. - [Narrator] We asked her to explain the tactics and skills required to work deep undercover. (light music) Covert operations have been a pillar of Israel's national security since its founding. - Israel is always very vulnerable for threats around us, so we need to be very alert all the time.

- [Narrator] Units like Peled's have infiltrated Palestinian militant strongholds for decades, but extended their work during the Second Intifada. - The undercover unit of the border police was established, and the significance was the ability to move in the field and getting to those terrorists before they're blowing themselves up or going to stab the Israeli civilians. (engaging music) - [Narrator] Israel's undercover teams are sometimes referred to as mistaravim, meaning those who are proficient in Arab culture. Their missions range from rescuing hostages to killing or capturing high-value targets in Palestinian territories. It requires a very specific skillset. - Undercover fighters are, first of all, fighters. We need to really blend in like a set of a movie and be very quiet and be very chill in order to get to our targets and then drop off our costumes and become soldiers and fighters. - [Narrator] Israel has declined to discuss the use

of civilian vehicles during the hostage
rescue operation in June. However, eyewitnesses said this
commercial truck transported Israeli special forces near
the Nuseirat refugee camp on the day of the mission. - The vehicles are a part of
the cover story in the field. We can't always do it on foot, and a vehicle is really like a costume. It's not enough to find the right vehicle. You need to disguise it so it will work out in
this specific territory. (light music) (guns firing) - [Narrator] Video released
by Israeli police shows commandos wearing battle
fatigues when they entered the apartment to reach the hostages. (group speaking in a foreign language) But Peled believes the work of the advanced undercover
teams led to this moment. - After the word act on the radio, the undercover team was already exposed and the uniform team went into action. The uniform unit took
control over the operation and went inside the house
to save the hostages.

(group speaking in a foreign language) (guns firing)
- [Narrator] A battle erupted in the streets when an outbreak
of gunfire alerted Hamas to the operation. (bomb exploding) The Israeli Air Force
struck a planned list of targets in Nuseirat to lay cover for the hostage rescue teams. Palestinian health authorities
said 274 Gazans were killed and nearly 700 injured. The Israeli military said
about 100 Gazans were killed or wounded, including militants and civilians caught in the crossfire. - When we go in the field, the only thing that we know for sure is that everything around us can happen. Nothing is in my control and I need to learn how to think and work inside of uncertainty,
really big uncertainty. (engaging music) - [Narrator] This isn't the
first time undercover teams have been involved in high-stakes missions. Four months earlier, security footage captured
this dramatic raid inside a West Bank hospital. - You can see the undercover
team inside a hospital already

after they got the word act
and pull out their guns. - [Narrator] The armed
Israeli agents, disguised as Palestinian medics, patients, and civilians, can be seen rushing through the hospital's corridors. - This is unusual because usually we don't
really go in buildings unless we have to. Part of the costume is
actually the accessories, the wheelchair, and a
lot of other accessories, maybe to conceal part of the gear to help them go in without anybody seeing something suspicious. - [Narrator] Three Palestinian
militants were killed in this operation, which
drew criticism of Israel for operating within a hospital. Israel said the militants had
been hiding in the hospital and using it as a base for
planning terrorist activities and carrying out attacks. Other instances where
undercover agents have posed as Palestinians include protests. - Everything in a demonstration
happens in a split second. So when everybody's
focused on throwing stones, they may become more violent
during the demonstrations.

they really lose focus on
what's happening around them. And then when the undercover fighters act, and it happens in seconds, the element of surprise is very critical. - [Narrator] In this footage, protesters can be seen focusing on stone throwing while behind them a team of Israeli undercover operatives, seen here, are about to move in on their targets. (engaging music) - They're exposed, they catch him, and it's over. It's over in seconds. - [Narrator] Undercover missions rely on weeks of intelligence gathering by a network of Palestinian informants and undercover Israeli agents. They can also require thousands of soldiers on standby. - The risks inside a big operation like we saw with the hostage, is from the minutes you get in the field, your life is in danger. We saw that one of the commanders of the rescue team was killed. That can happen when you work in a very crowded territory.

- [Narrator] Israel said 116
hostages remained in Gaza following the Nuseirat operation. But the successful rescue of four hostages from deep
within Gaza is reflective of the experience Israel's
military has developed over decades running undercover teams. - In order to execute an
operation like that, you have to come up with information and tactic methods from all kinds, because it's a very complicated thing to do in a very complicated time. It's not a usual undercover classic work. And to see that kind of cooperation was really, for me, the brilliant
thing in this operation. (engaging music)

Former Israeli Undercover Agent Breaks Down Tactics Used in Palestine | WSJ

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