Rescue at Entebbe: Operation Thunderbolt

How did Israel’s famously bold mission unfold?

• On June 27, 1976, Air France Flight 139 to Paris via Athens left Tel Aviv with 246 passengers, most of them Jewish, and 12 crew members.

• In Athens, where airport security was notoriously lax, 58 additional passengers boarded the plane – including four hijackers.

• The four hijackers diverted the plane to Benghazi, Libya for refueling. They released one hostage there, who claimed to be having a miscarriage.

• On June 28, the plane flew from Benghazi to Entebbe, Uganda. The hijackers, who were welcomed and supported by dictator Idi Amin, demanded $5 million and the release of 53 militants, all but 13 of whom were imprisoned in Israel. If their demands were not met, they said they would begin killing hostages on July 1.

• Upon moving the hostages to a derelict airport terminal, the kidnappers separated the Israelis and Jews. 148 non-Israeli hostages were freed and flown to Paris; 94 hostages, mostly Israelis, including at least one Shoah survivor, and the Air France crew – who refused to leave as a matter of conscience – were retained under threat of death.

• The IDF formulated rescue plans over the course of a week, taking into account the possibility that the Ugandan army would fight back.

• On the night of July 3 into July 4 (America’s Bicentennial), Israel sent a force of 100, including a group of 30 from Sayeret Matkal that stormed the terminal, and additional forces from the Paratroopers and Golani Brigade. In a daring operation carried out in only 90 minutes, 102 of the 106 remaining hostages were freed. Three died in the fighting, and one who was in the hospital there was subsequently murdered. Five Israeli fighters were wounded in the battle and one, operation commander Lt.-Col. Yoni Netanyahu, our premier’s brother, was killed. The four hijackers and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed, with 11 Ugandan fighter jets destroyed.