The dramatic incident aboard a Fly Dubai flight to Israel this week, in which a co-pilot attempted to seize control of the aircraft and crash it, before passengers and crew subdued him and forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, brought back to mind the danger posed by anyone trying to take over a passenger plane. It also recalled one of the most famous hijackings in Israeli history: the 1976 Air France seizure that led to Operation Entebbe.
From Dubai to Entebbe
The story of Operation Entebbe
After the attempted hijacking on a Fly Dubai flight this week, we look back fifty years to one of history's most famous hostage rescues: the 1976 Air France hijacking that ended with an IDF raid deep in Uganda, and the death of Yoni Netanyahu
Four terrorists board in Athens and take control
It begins in June 1976. Air France Flight 139 takes off from Tel Aviv bound for Paris, with a scheduled stop in Athens. During the Athens layover, four terrorists, two Palestinians and two Germans, board the plane, managing to bring weapons with them.
Shortly after takeoff from Athens, they draw their guns and seize the aircraft, which is carrying hundreds of passengers and crew. After a refueling stop in Libya, the hijackers fly on to Entebbe Airport in Uganda, where three more terrorists join them.
Once on the ground, the hostages are moved to the old terminal at the airport, and one of the hardest parts of the story begins. The hijackers separate the passengers: most of the non-Jewish foreigners are released, while the Israelis and Jews are kept captive.
The ultimatum the hijackers set for Israel
The terrorists present Israel and several other countries with a clear demand: release 53 prisoners, including 40 held in Israel. If the demands are not met, they threaten to begin killing the hostages.
Israel opens negotiations and even manages to push back the deadline. But while the talks are ongoing, the IDF is already working on an entirely different plan: to fly to Uganda and rescue the hostages themselves.
And it is far more complicated than it sounds. The forces would need to fly thousands of kilometers from Israel, land in the middle of the night at an airport in a foreign country, reach the terminal where the hostages are being held, and get them out before the terrorists can harm them.
After several days of planning, on the night between July 3 and 4, the operation is launched.
Four Hercules transports and one black Mercedes
Four Hercules aircraft take off from Israel toward Uganda, carrying fighters from Sayeret Matkal, paratroopers and Golani troops. The overall operation is commanded by Dan Shomron, while the assault force that will go directly to the hostages is led by Yoni Netanyahu, the older brother of Binyamin Netanyahu.
When the first plane lands at Entebbe, the soldiers unload a black Mercedes and two jeeps. The plan is to pose as a convoy of Ugandan president Idi Amin, allowing them to approach the terminal without the Ugandan soldiers suspecting an Israeli force.
But on the way to the terminal, the force encounters Ugandan soldiers, and fire is opened. The fighters continue toward the building, dismount from the vehicles and storm the structure where the hostages are being held.
During the exchange of fire, Yoni Netanyahu is hit and killed. Despite the loss of the assault force commander, the other fighters continue the mission, enter the terminal and eliminate the terrorists.
Meanwhile, additional IDF forces secure the airport, assist in transferring the hostages to the planes and destroy Ugandan fighter jets to prevent them from pursuing the Israeli aircraft.
Less than an hour in Entebbe, and an operation that entered history
Within less than an hour from landing, the Israeli forces complete the rescue and leave Entebbe with 102 hostages.
But the operation came at a heavy price. Three of the hostages were killed during the rescue, along with Yoni Netanyahu, who was the only Israeli soldier killed in the operation. Another hostage, Dora Bloch, who had been transferred to a hospital in Uganda before the rescue, was murdered afterward by the Ugandan authorities.
The operation, initially called "Thunderball," was later renamed in Yoni Netanyahu's memory: "Operation Yonatan."
Fifty years later, Operation Entebbe is still considered one of the most famous rescue missions in IDF history. What began with a hijacking on a flight to Paris ended with a daring rescue thousands of kilometers from Israel, and a story that entered history.
Operation Entebbe| צילום: Photos: GPO, IDF Spokesperson
