Mossad's female spies 'flirt' to decode enemy secrets

The world has not previously heard from the female spies of the Mossad, who have been crucial to some of the agency's greatest triumphs.

However, five of the highly trained agents have spoken out for the first time, telling Israeli magazine 'Lady Globes' about their extraordinary lifestyle which makes them feel as if they are 'living in a movie', the Daily Mail reported.

The most notable deployment of the women's unique talents came in 1986, when one agent seduced a turncoat former nuclear engineer and lured him into a trap so he could be taken back to Israel, the paper said.

A current agent calling herself Yael told the magazine that women often had an advantage over men, as they were more likely to be trusted by strangers.

"A man who wants to gain access to a forbidden area has less chance of being allowed in. A smiling woman has a bigger chance of success," she said.

"We use our femininity because any means is valid. Women agents are not used for sexual purposes. We flirt, but the line is drawn at sex," another spy, Efrat, said.

Mossad chief Tamir Pardo told the magazine that around half of the agency's spies are women, and said that the 'fairer sex' has some distinct advantages over male agents, the paper reported.

"Women have a distinct advantage in secret warfare because of their ability to multitask," he said.

"Contrary to stereotypes, you see that women's abilities are superior to men in terms of understanding the territory, reading situations, spatial awareness. When they're good, they're very good," Pardo added.