04 July-Entebbe

Operation Entebbe was a successful mission in which members of the Israel Defence Forces rescued hostages being held prisoner at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Israeli Commandos flew from Israel to Uganda, a distance of over 4,000km to carry out the daring mission in July 1976. Operation Entebbe, which was officially known as Operation Thunderbolt, was the subject of a movie called ‘Raid on Entebbe’ which was released on January 9th 1977.

On June 27th 1976 an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked. The plane with 248 passengers and a crew of 12 was hijacked by a splinter group of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two members of the German Revolutionary Cells. The plane was flown to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Over the following days 148 non-Israeli passengers were released. The Air France crew opted to stay with 94 mainly Israeli passengers who were detained in a disused airport building.

The hijackers demanded the release of 53 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and elsewhere. The Government of Israel responded by sending four cargo planes carrying over 100 commandos to Entebbe. The Planes were escorted by Phantom jet fighters. Within an hour of landing the Israeli commandos rescued 102 of the 106 hostages. All 7 of the hijackers and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed in the rescue. The Israeli commandos also destroyed a large number of Uganda’s air force MiG fighters in order to prevent pursuit. One Israeli commando, Yonatan Netanyahu, the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel died in the rescue.

Operation Entebbe in which 102 hostages were successfully rescued by Israeli commandos took place in the 1976 On This Day.

‘Raid on Entebbe’ brought to life for US Army Soldiers – Natural Fire 10 – US Army Africa – 091024 by US Army Africa on 2009-10-22 16:21:05

‘Raid on Entebbe’ brought to life for US Army Soldiers – Natural Fire 10 – US Army Africa – 091024 by US Army Africa on 2009-10-22 16:23:33

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*