The Yamam was established in late 1974 after the Ma'alot massacre, where a failed rescue operation by the Sayeret Matkal commando unit of the Israel Defense Forces resulted in the murder of 21 schoolchildren before the hostage takers were killed.

On May 23, 2006, a Yamam force, using intelligence provided by the Shin-Bet, arrested Ibrahim Hamed after an IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer started ramming the house in which he was hiding.

[4][5] On October 25, 2022, YAMAM led a combined raid (with the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet) on what the IDF said was the Lions' Den headquarters and bomb lab in Nablus.

[6] On January 26, 2023, YAMAM led a combined raid (with the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet) on Jenin refugee camp, which the IDF said was targeted against members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were planning an attack.

[21] In 2022 the unit received an honor citation from the Israel Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff (צל"ש הרמטכ"ל) for their fighting during Operation Breakwater.