Metzada Unit

The Metzada Unit is a specialized tactical formation of the Israel Prison Service (IPS), responsible for responding to high-risk incidents involving correctional facilities, prisoner transport and escaped prisoners. Its principal missions include hostage rescue, intervention in prison riots, the recovery of escaped inmates, support for raids conducted by other prison-service units, and protection of VIPs or other sensitive movements. The unit is one of Israel's recognized hostage-rescue capabilities and operates nationwide rather than being tied to a single prison or regional command. The unit was established in 2003 by IPS Commissioner Yaakov Ganot. Its creation followed a period in which assaults on prison personnel and attempts by prisoners to seize hostages exposed the absence of a dedicated hostage-rescue capability within the prison service. Before Metzada was formed, the IPS depended largely on other Israeli security organizations, including the Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), when a correctional crisis exceeded ordinary prison-service capabilities. In 2006, the unit also became subordinate to the IDF General Staff for relevant missions, subject to the approval of the IPS Commissioner. This arrangement expanded its responsibilities to include hostage-rescue duties in military detention facilities and cooperation with broader national-security operations. Metzada's remit includes incidents inside IPS and IDF correctional facilities, prisoner-transport vehicles and locations where escaped prisoners are believed to be hiding. It has also assisted the IDF, Israel Police and Israel Security Agency in arrests and searches, including operations in the West Bank. In correctional settings, the unit may be called upon to contain violent disturbances, retake cells or prison compounds, respond to barricaded prisoners, and support other IPS teams during complex searches or raids. The unit has also developed expertise in non-lethal weapons and related tactics, with its instructors contributing advice and training to parts of Israel's security community. Recruitment is drawn from IPS personnel with prior service in IDF combat units. Reported entry standards include advanced military infantry training, completion of a sergeant or officer course and a high level of physical fitness. Selection combines demanding physical and psychological testing, followed by a six-month unit training course. Public descriptions identify two principal operational sections: a takeover section focused on securing cells, vehicles and other locations, and a breaching section specializing in forced entry and explosive breaching. Operators may further specialize in rope work, breaching and entry, canine operations, precision shooting, negotiation and medical support. The unit's publicly reported operational history includes responses to prison disturbances, arrests of escaped prisoners, joint searches and arrests with Israeli security agencies, and support to military operations. A notable 2014 incident at Rimonim Prison involved an armed prisoner who wounded prison guards before barricading himself; Metzada personnel helped secure the scene, provided emergency medical assistance and exchanged fire after the prisoner fired at the team. The unit has also been publicly associated with responses to major prison unrest, including a 2016 intervention involving Hamas prisoners, and with security activity during the October 7, 2023 attacks, when a Metzada force reportedly assisted in the defense of Kibbutz Alumim. Operational details remain limited because the unit performs sensitive security functions.

The Metzada Unit was created in 2003 within the Israel Prison Service in response to the need for a dedicated tactical and hostage-rescue capability in correctional environments. Before its formation, serious prison emergencies requiring a specialized assault or rescue response had to be handled with assistance from the Israel Police or the IDF. The unit's initial purpose was therefore institutional as well as operational: it gave the prison service a permanent team trained to manage hostage-taking, armed prisoners, prison riots and other crises that could not be resolved through ordinary custodial procedures. The unit is organized as a nationwide formation and reports directly to the IPS chief of operations. Its members are IPS employees, generally recruited from personnel with combat experience in the IDF. The selection process is described as highly competitive, combining physical, psychological and professional testing. Successful candidates undergo a six-month training course before joining operational sections. Public descriptions divide the unit principally into a takeover section, which handles the seizure and securing of cells, vehicles and other locations, and a breaching section, which focuses on forced entry and explosive breaching. Individual operators can develop specialist skills in rope operations, canine work, precision shooting, negotiation, medical response and related disciplines. A significant institutional change came in 2006, when Metzada also became subordinate to the IDF General Staff for approved assignments. The arrangement allowed the unit to support hostage-rescue operations in military prisons and participate in selected missions beyond the IPS's ordinary custodial environment, while preserving the IPS Commissioner's authority over its deployment. The unit has subsequently been described as cooperating with the IDF, Israel Police and Israel Security Agency in arrests, searches and other operational activities, including the apprehension of escaped prisoners in the West Bank. Its reported operational record includes a 2004 prison riot at Nafha, when an IPS officer was taken hostage but released after negotiations; the 2005 capture of an escaped prisoner in Petah Tikva; joint arrests in Nablus and Kabatya in 2006 and 2008; and participation in a building takeover during the 2006 Gaza operation. In 2007, the unit retook a cell at Ofek Prison after negotiations with three barricaded teenage prisoners failed. It also helped suppress a major 2007 riot at Ktziot Prison. Other reported activities include assistance to the Israeli Navy during the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, operations connected with the 2014 Brother's Keeper and Protective Edge campaigns, and a 2016 intervention involving Hamas prisoners at Nafha and Eshel prisons. The 2014 Rimonim Prison incident became one of the unit's best-known publicly reported actions. After prisoner Samuel Sheinbein obtained a handgun, shot three guards and barricaded himself in a bathroom, Metzada personnel secured the scene and a unit paramedic treated wounded guards. Following an unsuccessful standoff and further gunfire directed at the tactical team, the prisoner was shot and later died. Several Metzada personnel received recognition for their conduct. During the October 7, 2023 attacks, a Metzada force was reported to have assisted in the defense of Kibbutz Alumim. As with many Israeli tactical units, detailed information about current strength, command personnel, equipment, deployments and operational outcomes is limited. The unit remains an active IPS capability focused on correctional-security emergencies and approved cooperation with Israel's wider security apparatus.

1. 2023Defense of Kibbutz Alumim

   A Metzada force reportedly assisted in the defense of Alumim during the October 7 attacks.

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2. 2016Intervention at Nafha and Eshel prisons

   Metzada took control of cells holding Hamas prisoners during an operation described as preventing a planned attack.

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3. 2014Rimonim Prison armed standoff

   The unit responded to an armed prisoner who had shot guards and barricaded himself inside the prison.

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4. 2007Ofek Prison cell intervention

   Metzada retook a cell after three barricaded prisoners threatened suicide and negotiations failed.

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5. 2006IDF General Staff relationship added

   The unit became additionally subordinate to the IDF General Staff for approved missions, including work involving military prisons.

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6. 2003Unit established

   The Israel Prison Service established Metzada as a dedicated tactical and hostage-rescue unit.

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A specialist national tactical capability for high-risk incidents involving Israeli correctional facilities, prisoner transport and escaped prisoners.

• 2014Operation Brother's Keeper

  West Bank

  Metzada operated in the Nablus area in support of IDF searches and arrests.

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• 2014Operation Protective Edge

  Gaza Strip

  The unit was reported to have assisted the IDF Gaza Division during the operation.

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• 2010Gaza flotilla raid

  Mediterranean Sea · Gaza-related maritime operations

  The unit was reported to have assisted the Israeli Navy during the operation against the Gaza flotilla.

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• 2006Operation Autumn Clouds

  Gaza Strip

  Metzada personnel were reported to have participated in a building takeover during the IDF operation.

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• 2006Expand coordination with the IDFStrategy

  Military detention facilities and cross-agency security operations required a specialized unit able to work beyond ordinary IPS facilities.

  What changed. Metzada was placed under the IDF General Staff for approved missions while remaining an IPS unit.

  Aftermath. Its mandate expanded to hostage rescue in military prisons and support for selected IDF and other security operations.

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• 2003Create an internal prison-service hostage-rescue capabilityStrategy

  The IPS faced prison assaults, hostage-taking risks and emergencies that previously required support from external Israeli security organizations.

  What changed. The IPS established Metzada as a dedicated nationwide tactical unit.

  Aftermath. The prison service gained its own specialized response capability for hostage rescue, riots, escaped-prisoner incidents and high-risk tactical support.

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• 2023Metzada assists in the defense of Kibbutz Alumim

  During the October 7 attacks, a Metzada force reportedly assisted in defending Kibbutz Alumim against Hamas fighters.

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• 2014Metzada responds to the Rimonim Prison shooting

  The unit intervened after an armed prisoner shot prison guards and barricaded himself. Several personnel were later recognized for their actions during the incident.

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• 2006Metzada receives expanded military-prison responsibility

  The unit became additionally subordinate to the IDF General Staff for approved missions and assumed responsibility for hostage rescue in military prisons.

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• 2003Metzada Unit established within the Israel Prison Service

  The IPS created the unit to provide an internal capability for hostage incidents, prison emergencies and other high-risk tactical events.

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1. Metzada Unit
2. Israel Prison Service