SAYERET MATKAL: Israel’s Daring Raid You’ve Never Heard Of Operation Crate 3

In 1972, deep in the mountains of southern Lebanon, an Israeli special forces unit launched a secret operation that almost no one was supposed to know about. Their mission: to capture high-ranking Syrian officers and use them as leverage to free three Israeli pilots held in Damascus.

After two failed attempts, the men of Sayeret Matkal crossed the border under the cover of night — armed not just with weapons, but with a promise: never to leave their comrades behind. This is the untold story of Operation Crate 3 — a daring raid that changed the course of Israel’s covert war and proved that even one silent night could echo across history. ⚔️ Watch till the end to see how a mission that began in the shadows would end in one of the most dramatic prisoner exchanges of the Cold War era. This video explores one of Israel’s most secret and daring missions — Operation Crate 3, carried out by the elite unit Sayeret Matkal in 1972. 

In the tense aftermath of the Six-Day War, three Israeli pilots were captured by Syria after their aircraft were shot down. With diplomatic channels closed, Israel turned to its most capable commandos to create leverage: capturing senior Syrian officers inside Lebanon. 

After two failed attempts, a small Sayeret Matkal team crossed the border under the cover of night, set up an ambush deep in the Lebanese hills, and executed a perfectly timed capture operation that stunned both allies and enemies. 

The success of Operation Crate 3 led to one of the most dramatic prisoner exchanges in Israel’s history — trading captured Syrian officers for the return of the Israeli pilots from Damascus.

This documentary uncovers the untold details of how the mission was planned, the intelligence behind it, the political risks involved, and the men who made it happen.