On June 27, 1976, Air France Flight 139 departed from Tel Aviv, Israel, en route to Paris, France, with a stopover in Athens, Greece. The flight had 248 passengers and a crew of 12 on board, including 94 Israelis and 12 members of the Air France crew.
As the plane was about to land in Athens, four hijackers, two Palestinians and two Germans, took control of the aircraft by force, wielding guns and grenades. They ordered the pilot to fly to Benghazi, Libya, where they planned to refuel before flying to an unknown destination.
The hijackers soon revealed their demands, which included the release of Palestinian militants held in Israeli prisons, as well as a ransom of $5 million. The hijackers threatened to kill the hostages if their demands were not met.
After refueling in Benghazi, the plane headed towards Entebbe Airport in Uganda, where then President Idi Amin offered to provide refuge for the hijackers and their hostages. Amin was sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and saw an opportunity to gain favor with Arab nations by assisting the hijackers.
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The hijackers were greeted with a hero’s welcome in Entebbe, where they held the hostages captive in a terminal building. The hijackers separated the Jewish and Israeli hostages from the rest of the passengers and threatened to kill them first if their demands were not met.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, began to plan a rescue mission. The Israeli military devised a daring plan to fly commandos into Entebbe Airport under the cover of darkness, rescue the hostages, and escape before the Ugandan military could respond.
On July 4, 1976, the Israeli rescue mission, dubbed Operation Thunderbolt, was launched. Four Israeli transport planes flew undetected into Entebbe Airport and landed on the tarmac. The commandos, dressed in Ugandan military uniforms, stormed the terminal building where the hostages were being held.
In a fierce firefight with the hijackers and Ugandan soldiers, the Israeli commandos managed to free 102 of the hostages and kill all of the hijackers. Three hostages and one Israeli commando were killed in the operation.
The Israeli rescue mission was hailed as a triumph of military planning and execution. The daring operation, which took less than 90 minutes from start to finish, was a bold response to terrorism and a message to the world that Israel would not negotiate with terrorists.
The events of the Entebbe raid inspired countless books, movies, and documentaries, including “90 Minutes to Entebbe.” The story of the Entebbe raid continues to be celebrated as a symbol of Israeli determination and bravery in the face of adversity.
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