Yom Tov Samia on the undercover operatives: "Learn to be a Gazan, reek yourself so you blend in"

After years of covert activity, fighters from the "Samson" undercover unit, established in the late 1980s, revealed in the film "Undercover in the Heart of Gaza" by Tzahi Halevi, a graduate of the unit himself, how they operated under false identities and infiltrated the Gaza population.

In the film "Undercover in the Heart of Gaza" by Tzahi Halevi, a graduate of the unit himself, fighters from the "Samson" unit shared for the first time moments from service last night (Tuesday). According to the article, the unit was established in the late 1980s, operated through the Intifada years and began as a classified unit that even in the military few knew about, with its fighters holding false identities and operating secretly in the heart of the Gaza Strip.

Reserve Brigadier Yom Tov Samia, former commander of the Gaza Division, described the work in the unit: "You have a beard, learn to be a Gazan, reek yourself so you blend in at the place." Hali Kamelman, a platoon clerk and makeup artist in "Samson," said: "We created skin diseases, teeth with nicotine, the fingernails of hands, we took care of absolutely everything."

Giora Eitan, who was the unit's first sniper, told of an incident where fighters needed to infiltrate among masked men and act against them: "We needed to dress like them, join them and pluck them out."

According to the article, one of the operations that changed what "Samson" fighters knew until then was "Operation Qatar," whose goal was to capture terrorist Osama al-Nagar. The operation included heavy fighting, during which Staff Sergeant Doron Darzi was killed. Yuval Yissakel, who was then a platoon commander, said: "There the innocence ended."