In a crowded room, out of a missile boat or submarine, Unit 663 fighters sit, listening to vessels and destinations on the beach and providing important news to forces operating off the coast of Israel. All this without anyone noticing, and with the help of advanced technological systems. "You are alone at sea. You have no ability to consult "

The "Purpose Presentation" of the assassination of Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad) in Tunis culminated on April 15, 1988. He was one of the founders of the Fatah movement, the commander of the PLO's military wing, Arafat's deputy, and one of the founders. But most of all, he stood out as the "brain" behind murderous attacks, in which he also planned to raid the shores of Israel, infiltrate the base of the General Staff camp in Tel Aviv and hit the nuclear research campus.

The fighters of Squadron 13 and the General Staff patrol sailed on navy ships to the shores of Tunis while crossing Libyan shores, accompanied by a submarine and Air Force planes. Late at night when the signal was given, Squadron 13 fighters got off the ships on rubber boats. Opposite the picturesque town of Sidi Bo-Said, the General Staff patrol fighters began to be brought ashore.

After closing a circle and verifying accurate intelligence about al-Wazir's arrival at his home and the conditions for the raid had matured, General Staff patrol fighters boarded vehicles hired for them by Mossad fighters, and drove to an upscale neighborhood a few miles from the coast.

After long nerve-wracking minutes, al-Wazir was killed in front of his wife with more than 50 bullets, and then another drama began. The warriors returned to shore quickly, hurried to board the rubber boats, sailed for about an hour and a half towards the navy ships and disappeared into the heart of the sea before dawn. 

Almost 35 years after the daring operation - more than 2,300 kilometers off the coast of Israel - it was unveiled at Walla! that in the operation that included a wide-ranging intelligence effort, fighters from Unit 663 specializing in wiretapping in the naval arena participated on one of the ships.

The senior Navy command selected and approved the integration of two veterans from Unit 663. The first, a reservist who later returned to the unit and reached the position of deputy commander, and the second a regular service fighter, who participated in many complex operations in the Middle East. The two fighters are of Tunisian descent. One of them was born in Tunis and the other belongs to a family that immigrated from Tunis. Both are well acquainted with the Tunisian dialect.

The former deputy commander of the unit, whose name remains classified, said this week that his commander called him while he was working as an instructor at an agricultural school, and activated the agreed-upon code for operational readiness. 

Preparation of the unit was quick and without hesitation. "Moving from zero to a hundred," the former deputy commander of the unit described, adding that for him the partnership in the operation was significant since he immigrated to Israel at the age of 12 with his family from Tunis. 

The streets where the forces operated were in the past a childhood landscape and therefore he knew intimately the areas where the General Staff patrol and the Mossad fighters operated, and knew how to tell in real time about the location of the forces on the ground and the location of police forces called to the neighborhood.

The operation investigation revealed that the fighters who were on one of the ships and listened using advanced equipment to what was happening on the beach and in the maritime space, helped build the maritime image upon arriving at Tunisian ships laden with vessels, real-time alerts on the location of forces and the arrival of hostile elements. It is important to emphasize that senior PLO members lived near Abu Jihad and each had a security team.

It was a breath-taking and up-to-date picture that accurately describes the enemy's location to the exact streets, the type of vehicle he drove and more, "said unit officials, adding:" This picture led to correct decisions by commanders and decision makers. "All the advanced capabilities led to unprecedented operational success while securing the forces that prevented the continuation of the huge attacks at that time, and maintaining the security of our forces."

The fighters described the voyage back to Israel as very exciting given their work, the size of the operation and the effect it produced in the international arena. The last two years have been very busy and for their contribution to the battle between the wars and secret operations against enemy countries have received certificates of appreciation.

As early as 1948, Israeli intelligence placed emphasis on wiretapping in the naval arena, but they were integrated into the General Wiretapping Unit of the Israel Defense Forces. It was decided to establish an independent listening unit at an intelligence ship to improve real-time alerting to operational forces in the naval arena. It will later be called: "Unit 663" which is revealed here for the first time.

"Get as close to the enemy as possible"

From the beginning of its establishment the soldiers of the unit have been carefully selected, trained as naval warriors capable of dealing with high waves on missile ships, stormy weather and staying in a submarine deep in the heart of the sea and for long ranges. Some of them were experts in the language even before he enlisted, but most of them underwent rigorous training, mainly in Arabic, until they became experts in various languages - depending on the arenas. Since then over the years the unit has evolved, increased its manpower significantly and absorbed advanced equipment and its name is well known in the intelligence community.

"Every vessel that enters the Navy, allows us to get to more distant places, and to places closer to the enemy, where you accordingly have to adjust systems of Unit 663, so that they can get as close as possible to the enemy," said Navy Intelligence Department Chief Lt. Col. L., 37, added: "There is no naval activity in which the unit does not share some of the lessons of the past." 

After the process of locating candidates for service in the IDF, they undergo a formation that is done once a year. Those who have passed and are found suitable for service as a naval fighter, undergo training and language training in the 15th training unit of the Armed Forces. They then undergo training as naval combatants and adjustments to service on missile boats and submarines.

About two years ago, the process of integrating female combatants into the unit began. Major A., commander of Unit 663 in the Navy, a former fighter and commander of Squadron 13 - whose courage is talked about behind his back in admiration - said: “All the fighters in the unit serve as equals. At the moment they are only on the missile boats. The first cycle is being released right now."

663 fighters man a small, air-conditioned room in a submarine or missile ship because of the technological systems installed in it. The room is set as top secret. It will usually be a side room that allows you to concentrate on the phone calls and communication networks in the space. 

Two 663 or three fighters enter the small room, depending on the scope of the operation. The room is air conditioned because of advanced technological systems. It will have a laptop and binders with intelligence information and a database. 

The warriors sat inside and listened to vessels in space or to destinations on the beach. Some of the information will serve the commander of the vessel as a warning, some of the information critical to tactical actions or the selection of the shipping lane to evade hostile bodies and maintain its secrecy. Some of the intelligence gathered by the unit's fighters will be used by the intelligence community in the future.

"The fighters skip between the missile ships and the submarines. They do not serve in a regular vessel. It all depends on the operational activity. It is a mental challenge. All their service is challenging. They are always ready to get a phone call and be popped up to the unit Because "this is a double-digit recruitment every year and we have almost no dropouts from the unit." 

It should be emphasized that although the unit's fighters perform tasks primarily for the navy, they work together with the Armed Forces, the Mossad and the GSS because they are in a location close and intimate to the enemy at times in its naval space without knowing it.

663 fighters are defined as fighters for everything in the vessel and they are required to adapt to long voyages in submarines and missile boats under harsh conditions. The unit commander referred to the nature of the service: “Uncertainty is part of the service. It starts with the standby and being called from home.

You go out planning for two days and suddenly it can be a week. There is a longer and shorter period, the responsibility that there is on the person in the activity."

Lt. Col. E. referred to the contribution of 663 fighters to the IDF's covert campaign in recent years against the Iranians, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in the Middle East. 

"In recent years naval forces have been an increasing part of a growing part of complex and far-flung arenas. We have some examples where fighters brought intelligence from the sea that was exclusive after we returned and benefited other intelligence agencies. 

It was possible because it knew how to bring in intelligence that would secure the force. While in other formations they did not know how to give it, without the fighters of 663. In the last two years, they have brought intelligence, in the field, to the commanders of the forces, intelligence that has returned here that was valuable to the navy, and to other units, which if they did not bring it .. (he looks at an information security officer and stops talking).