The Ghosts of Rafah: An Undercover Counter-Terrorism Agent in the Heart of the Middle East Conflict

“Turn right,” the Shin Bet coordinator said. “We’ll circle back through the main road.”I turned right, then took another right into the next alley—and found myself entering the mosque courtyard. It was Friday afternoon, and a large crowd was spilling out of the mosque. I had no choice but to stop the vehicle. Worshipers continued to emerge and were now surrounding our small Peugeot. I could hear the guys in the back quietly cocking their Uzis. The faces of the coordinator and the team commander remained calm, but I could feel their nerves. What was I supposed to do to get us out of this? The situation could turn into a bloodbath in seconds—with dozens dead on both sides. I was just twenty years old. A young fighter, right in the lion’s den, and the only one who could get us out.During the First Intifada in the early 1990s, a unit of independent undercover soldiers began operating deep in the heart of the Gaza Strip. Trained in martial arts, infiltration, interrogation, espionage, and urban warfare, the members of the Samson unit spoke the Strip’s language. They wore its clothes. Their mission—to strike at the heart of the Gaza terrorist network. Get in, gather intel, make the arrests, and get out. Untouchable. Invisible.Until now.Tomer Tzaban, one of the IDF’s first undercover operators in Gaza, shares firsthand accounts of previously untold missions from the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. From changing identities on the fly to heart-pounding chases in the kasbahs of Rafah, Tzaban lays out mission after fast-paced mission in the unit’s hair-raising legacy.The Ghosts of Rafah is a rare, first-of-its-kind look into Samson’s perilous, silent operations that ultimately brought invaluable peace to its civilians. Read more