האם מפעיל חדר הבריחה ראה את המגנט במצלמת האבטחה?

האם marks a yes/no question. It is a bit formal or neutral in style, especially common in writing and careful speech.

So האם ... ? is like putting Did/Does/Is/Are ... ? at the start of an English sentence.

In everyday spoken Hebrew, people often leave האם out and just use intonation: מפעיל חדר הבריחה ראה את המגנט במצלמת האבטחה?

With האם, Hebrew often keeps a fairly normal statement-like word order: האם + subject + verb + object

So: האם מפעיל חדר הבריחה ראה את המגנט...?

This is very natural. Hebrew does allow other word orders in some contexts, but this one is straightforward and common.

Here מפעיל is a noun, meaning something like operator, person running, or staff member in charge.

It comes from the verb להפעיל (to operate / run / activate), but in this sentence it functions as a person-word: מפעיל חדר הבריחה = the operator of the escape room / the person running the escape room

Because this is a construct chain (סמיכות).

מפעיל חדר הבריחה literally works like: operator of the escape room

In a construct chain, the first noun usually does not take ה־, even when the whole phrase is definite. The definiteness is determined by the following noun phrase.

So:

• מפעיל חדר הבריחה = the operator of the escape room
• not המפעיל חדר הבריחה

This is very normal Hebrew grammar.

This is another construct chain.

• חדר = room
• בריחה = escape
• חדר הבריחה = literally room of the escape, i.e. escape room

Again, in this structure, the first noun (חדר) does not take ה־. The second word carries the definiteness:

• חדר בריחה = an escape room
• חדר הבריחה = the escape room

So the sentence contains a nested structure: מפעיל [חדר הבריחה]

ראה is the past tense, third person masculine singular form of לראות (to see).

It matches מפעיל, which is masculine singular.

So:

• הוא ראה = he saw
• היא ראתה = she saw
• הם ראו = they saw

Because the subject here is מפעיל (masculine singular), ראה is the correct form.

Here את is the direct object marker. It appears before a definite direct object.

So:

• ראה מגנט = saw a magnet
• ראה את המגנט = saw the magnet

This את does not mean with here. That is a very common beginner confusion.

In this sentence, את is just a grammar marker showing that המגנט is the definite thing being seen.

Yes, Hebrew has a word that sounds the same, but here it is not the preposition with.

In this sentence, את comes right before a definite noun: את המגנט

That strongly tells you it is the direct object marker.

If Hebrew means with in normal modern usage, you will often see forms like:

• איתי = with me
• איתו = with him
• איתה = with her

So in your sentence, את is definitely the object marker, not with.

המגנט is definite: the magnet.

That means the speaker has a specific magnet in mind, or the magnet is already known from context.

Because it is definite, Hebrew uses את before it: את המגנט

If it were indefinite, it would usually be: מגנט without את.

Because מצלמת האבטחה is also a construct chain:

• מצלמה = camera
• אבטחה = security
• מצלמת אבטחה = security camera
• מצלמת האבטחה = the security camera

In construct state, many feminine nouns ending in ־ה change to a form ending in ־ת.

So:

• מצלמה → מצלמת

Then the preposition ב־ (in / on / via) attaches to it:

• ב + מצלמת = במצלמת

Literally, ב־ often means in, but in this context Hebrew uses it more idiomatically.

במצלמת האבטחה can mean:

• on the security camera
• in the security camera footage
• via the security camera

So the idea is not that something is physically inside the camera, but that it was visible through the recording / view of the security camera.

Yes. That is one reason the sentence may look dense to a learner.

You have:

• חדר הבריחה = the escape room
• מפעיל חדר הבריחה = the operator of the escape room
• מצלמת האבטחה = the security camera

So the sentence stacks a few common Hebrew noun-linking patterns together. This is very typical of natural Hebrew.