It’s been 42 years since a group of determined Israeli commandos flew through the night to the African nation of Uganda, ruled by the capricious dictator Idi Amin, on a July 4, 1976 mission to rescue Jewish hostages.
The prisoners were being held by blood-thirsty terrorists of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who had hijacked an Air France passenger airline.
Miraculously, almost everyone made it out alive; sadly, the commander of the operation — Yonatan Netanyahu, older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu who eventually became Israel’s current prime minister — was not among them. The sole IDF casualty, “Yoni” was killed along with three of the 106 hostages.
Operation Entebbe, July 4,1976: IDF commandos rescued 102 Israeli hostages from Uganda after their plane was hijacked by terrorists. The emotional moments the hostages landed in Israel, safe, captured on camera. But four hostages and the commando leader would not come back alive. pic.twitter.com/FjUX7vksjv
— WJC (@WorldJewishCong)
All seven of the hijackers were killed, as well as 45 Ugandan military personnel who were supporting the terrorists. Ten hostages and five IDF soldiers were wounded during the operation. Some 11-30 Ugandan Air Force aircraft were destroyed.