Operation Thunderbolt
According to the historian Saul David, it was the “most audacious special forces operation in history”. Operation Thunderbolt really was the stuff of a Hollywood movie: the odds were stacked against the rescuers and the stakes could not have been higher. But still, against the odds, the mission to rescue more than 100 hostages was a triumph, and its consequences are still being felt to this day.
On June 27, 1976, an Air France plane was hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLO). Scheduled to fly from Tel Aviv to Paris, it was diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. The terrorists demanded that 40 of their comrades be released from Israeli prisons. If their demands were not met, they would start executing the passengers. First, however, all the non-Israeli passengers were set free. After that, 94 remained, alongside 12 Air France crew.
Unwilling to give in to terrorists, the Israeli government looked to bring the hijacking to an end. The problem was, the Air France plane was in Uganda, whose leader Idi Amin had expressed his support for the hijackers. Any rescue mission would have to be conducted on foreign soil and in a hostile environment. The crack Israeli Defence Force (IDF), thus devised Operation Thunderbolt fully expecting that their commandoes would have to fight Ugandan soldiers as well as the Palestinian terrorists.
A week after the plane was taken over, the IDF sprung into action. Under the leadership of Yonatan Netanyahu – the older brother of the future Israeli Prime Minister – 100 commandos traveled 2,500 miles to Uganda. They flew low – sometimes at less than 100 feet – to avoid radar. After stopping off in friendly Kenya, they proceeding to Entebbe. Under the cover of darkness, the commandos landed. They unloaded a black Mercedes and two black Land Rovers and drove towards the huge terminal where the passengers were being held, hoping the guards would mistake them for Idi Amin and his bodyguards. Netanyahu had ordered his men to kill the sentries, but they were simply wounded. One was able to raise the alarm.
The rescuers ditched their vehicles and swiftly approached the terminal building on foot. A firefight broke out. Three Israeli passengers were killed, but so too were all the hijackers. The IDF also destroyed most of the Ugandan Air Force. As the rescuers made their escape, they had to engage Ugandan troops. They suffered a handful of casualties, including Netanyahu. Finally, the passengers and the commandoes were on board Hercules transport planes and were flying back to Israel and to safety.
In all, 102 hostages were rescued. Some nations accused Israel of an act of aggression on foreign soil, while others offered their support. For the Israelis themselves, Operation Thunderbolt became the stuff of legend and the men involved, especially Netanyahu, became national heroes.