Israel reveals its Sayeret Maglan is operational in Gaza...

The Maglan special forces unit found explosives two steps away from a baby's bed

The simple caption on this photo on the IDF Flickr site caught my attention.  What the fuck is the Maglan Special Forces Unit?  IDF has tons of special ops outfits but I had never heard of these guys.  A quick trip to Google, which led to Wikipedia revealed this...

Maglan (Hebrew: מגלן. Also known as Unit 212 or Sayeret Maglan) is an Israeli Special Forces unit which specializes in operating behind enemy lines and deep in enemy territory using advanced technologies and weaponry.
The unit's name is derived from the Ibis bird (In Hebrew: Maglan).
The IDF keeps the unit's designated missions a secret and gives no information about it or the operations in which the unit takes part. Maglan has existed since 1986 but became publicly known only in 2006. Very little is known about the unit, only that the force performs top secret operations behind enemy lines, deep within hostile territory. Like Sayeret Matkal, although the operators in the unit wear a red beret and brown combat boots and conduct basic training at one of the paratroopers' bases, they are not part of the Paratroop Brigade. Maglan has a 20 months training program (6 months basic training and 14 months specialized combat education), and many of the candidates drop out due to the harsh nature of the program. The training program is known to be one of the toughest in the IDF. Similarly to Sayeret Matkal, Maglan answers to the IDF's General Staff and not to one of its regional commands.
Maglan is a relatively new unit. It is rumored that it was deployed on covert SCUD hunting missions in Iraq during the First Gulf War in 1991.
During the Second Lebanon War, the unit took part in many operations and achieved great success. During Operation Beach-Boys, the unit operated along the western coastal strip ofLebanon and destroyed 150 targets, among them 40 rocket launchers.

Either the IDF censors are slipping or Hamas is being sent a message.

The IDF has a unit running around Gaza undetected and getting the job done.  What has me scratching my head is how these guys are avoiding being engaged in endless firefights.

Are they another one of those units that dress up as Hamas and wander around without being observed?  I've heard that they have units that are filled with Arab looking and speaking Israelis that specialize in just that sort of thing but I always imagined it was bluster.  Now?  I'm not so sure.

Even more interesting is that this unit reports directly to the General Staff and not a regional command.  That makes it a truly special unit (I'm seriously beginning to wonder how the Israeli's designate special ops units...the Golani Brigade are fighting like world champs but they're considered an elite but not special ops outfit).  I'll be watching for more news on the Sayeret Maglan.