On the afternoon of July 3, four C-130 cargo planes transported the combat forces from the Ophir airport in southern Sinai. After a seven-hour flight, the airlifters reached Entebbe and landed at the airfield.
Operation Entebbe, one of the riskiest hostage rescue attempts in history, took place 44 years ago today.
After a brief stopover in Athens on June 27, 1976, a group of terrorists seized an Air France Airbus airliner that was traveling from Ben-Gurion to Paris. After seizing possession of it, the terrorists forced the Airbus to land at the airport in Benghazi, Libya. The hijacked plane continued south after refueling. On the morning of June 28, it landed early at Entebbe airport in Uganda, which is 50 kilometers from Kampala, the country’s capital.
There were 148 people riding in the aircraft. According to the Israeli Air Force website’s Operation Entebbe article, Ugandan President Idi Amin embraced the hijackers and sent his forces to assist them. The terrorists requested the release of 52 detainees held in Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Kenya in exchange for the release of the hostages.
After multiple diplomatic efforts failed, the political echelons ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to conduct a military operation to release the hostages. Israeli Air Force took part in a special operation carried out by the IDF’s “Sayeret Matkal” special operations unit (IAF). The operation got started right away after quickly developing a plan and conducting training using an operational model. On the afternoon of July 3, four C-130 cargo planes transported the combat forces from the Ophir airport in southern Sinai.
After a seven-hour flight, the airlifters reached Entebbe and landed at the airfield. The hostages who were being held in the terminal were freed as the combat forces stormed the airfield. During the operation, there were also two Boeing 707 airplanes in the air. The deputy chief of staff and IAF commander oversaw the operation from one, which operated as an airborne hospital, and the other, which served as a relay and command post.
At the conclusion of the operation, the C-130s departed from Entebbe. They stopped at the Nairobi airport in Kenya while traveling back in order to refuel. When the plane with the hostages landed in Israel early on July 4, 1976, the operation was over. Operation Yonatan, which was later known as Operation Thunderbolt, was later carried out in honor of Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu Z”L, commander of “Sayeret Matkal,” the only IDF soldier killed during the mission.
Photo by Israeli Air Force