The Entebbe Raid, officially Operation Thunderbolt (often called Operation Yonatan in Israel), was a long-range hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the night of 3–4 July 1976 at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
The crisis began on 27 June 1976, when Air France Flight 139, en route from Tel Aviv to Paris via Athens, was hijacked by two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO) and two members of the German Revolutionary Cells. The aircraft was diverted to Benghazi, Libya, and then to Entebbe, where Ugandan President Idi Amin allowed the hijackers to hold the passengers in the old terminal building. Non-Jewish and non-Israeli hostages were released; roughly 100 Jewish and Israeli passengers, along with the Air France crew led by Captain Michel Bacos, were kept. The hijackers demanded the release of 53 militants held in Israel and four other countries.
After diplomatic options stalled, Israel's cabinet under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defence Minister Shimon Peres authorised a military rescue. About 100 commandos from Sayeret Matkal, the Paratroopers Brigade and Golani Brigade flew roughly 4,000 km in four C-130 Hercules aircraft. The assault force stormed the terminal and freed the hostages in under an hour. Three hostages were killed during the operation; a fourth, Dora Bloch, was later murdered in a Kampala hospital on Amin's orders. The Israeli ground commander, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu — elder brother of Benjamin Netanyahu — was the only Israeli soldier killed.
The raid is studied as a landmark in counter-terrorism doctrine and extraterritorial use of force. Uganda brought the matter to the UN Security Council in July 1976; a draft resolution condemning Israel failed to pass. The operation also strained Israel–Africa relations and is frequently cited in debates over the legality of rescuing nationals abroad under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Example
In July 1976, Israeli commandos flew over 4,000 km to Uganda and freed more than 100 hostages from Air France Flight 139 in what became known as the Entebbe Raid.
Frequently asked questions
It remains contested. Israel justified it as self-defence to protect nationals under Article 51 of the UN Charter; Uganda and several states argued it violated Ugandan sovereignty. A UN Security Council draft condemning Israel failed in July 1976.
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