July In Jewish History: Operation Entebbe

JULY 4, 1976
Operation Entebbe was a rescue mission performed by several IDF units in Uganda on July 4th 1976, for the liberation of 98 Jewish and Israeli hostages. Their plane, an Air France aircraft, was hijacked on June 27th, by Palestinian and German terrorists. The hijackers landed the plane at Benghazi, Libya and flew it from there to Entebbe in Uganda, where all non-Jewish passengers were freed. Israel tried to develop a dialogue with Ugandan President Idi Amin, who collaborated with the terrorists. Simultaneously, preparations began for a military operation.

On July 1, the mission’s overall commander, Brigadier General Dan Shomron (who later became the IDF Chief­ of­ Staff), presented his plan to the IDF Commander and Israel’s Defense Minister. His plan was based on several advantages that the Israelis had over the terrorists. The Entebbe airport at which the hostages were being held was built by an Israeli construction firm, which was able to provide Shomron with blueprints. Moreover, the released, non-Jewish hostages were able to describe the terrorists, their arms, and their positioning. As a result, the IDF decided to send in an overwhelmingly powerful force: over 200 of the best soldiers the army had to offer participated in the raid, all of them heavily armed.

Finally, the element of surprise was probably the biggest edge that Israel held. According to Shomron: “You had more than 100 people sitting in a small room, surrounded by terrorists with their fingers on the trigger. They could fire in a fraction of a second. We had to fly seven hours, land safely, drive to the terminal area where the hostages were being held, get inside, and eliminate all the terrorists before any of them could fire.” The fact that no one expected the Israelis to take such risks was precisely the reason that they took them.

The aircraft took off on July 3 and headed south. Only then was the plan revealed to the Israeli Cabinet, which decided to let the operation continue.

The soldiers freed the hostages in a lightning attack, killing all eight terrorists in the process. Tragically, force commander Yoni Netanyahu (brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) was killed as he led the hostages toward the safety of the aircraft; additionally, two hostages were killed in the crossfire inside the airport. The operation, which was predicted to last one hour, took only 58 minutes.

The mission struck a blow at international terrorism. “It resonated far and wide,” Shomron later commented. “It showed that you could counter terrorism, and that it was worth cooperating to do so.” As America celebrated its Bicentennial, the world was reminded that freedom is a value which must be fought for in every generation.