50 years after Entebbe: The week of terror that changed Israel forever

Fifty years after Operation Entebbe, one of the most daring hostage rescue missions ever carried out, the dramatic story behind the mission remains one of Israel’s defining moments of courage, resolve, and defiance against terrorism.

World Israel News Staff

The crisis began on June 27, 1976, when an Air France flight carrying more than 250 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

There, dictator Idi Amin welcomed the hijackers, allowed additional terrorists to join them, and placed the hostages under the guard of Ugandan troops as Israeli and Jewish passengers were separated from the rest and threatened with execution unless dozens of imprisoned terrorists were released.

For an agonizing week, Israel pursued every diplomatic avenue while secretly preparing a military rescue.

As negotiations stalled and the terrorists’ deadline drew near, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin authorized an unprecedented operation more than 2,500 miles from Israel. On the night of July 3-4, Israeli commandos stormed Entebbe Airport, killed the hijackers, rescued more than 100 hostages, and stunned the world with an operation that became a model for special forces missions everywhere.

The victory came at a painful cost. Lt. Col. Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, commander of the elite Sayeret Matkal assault force, was killed leading his men into battle, becoming the raid’s only Israeli military fatality.

Born in New York and raised between Israel and the United States, Yoni fought in the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, earned Israel’s Medal of Distinguished Service, and was widely regarded as one of the IDF’s most gifted commanders.

His legacy has endured far beyond the battlefield. The mission was later renamed Operation Yonatan in his honor, and his younger brother, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has often quoted Yoni’s words: “The State of Israel will not be a fleeting episode in the history of our people.”

Half a century later, Yoni Netanyahu remains a symbol of sacrifice, leadership, and Israel’s unwavering commitment to bringing its citizens home and confronting terrorism wherever it emerges.