OPERATION ENTEBBE

ISRAELS MASTER STROKE

Introduction

Operation Entebbe was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by

commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July
1976.

A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked, by
members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary
Cells, and flown to Entebbe, the main airport of Uganda.

The local government supported the hijackers and dictator Idi Amin personally welcomed
them. The hijackers separated the Israelis and Jews from the larger group and forced them
into another room.

That afternoon, 47 non-Israeli hostages were released.

The next day, 101 more non-Israeli hostages were allowed to leave on board an Air France
aircraft.

More than 100 Israeli and Jewish passengers, along with the non-Jewish pilot Captain
Bacos, remained as hostages and were threatened with death.

Hijacking

On 27 June 1976, Air France Flight 139, an Airbus A300 (Airbus A300B4-203), registration
F-BVGG (c/n 019), originated from Tel Aviv, Israel, carrying 246 passengers and a crew of
12.

An additional 58 passengers, including four hijackers, waited to board at the Athens

airport, heading for Paris.

Soon after the 12:30 pm takeoff, the flight was hijacked by two Palestinians from the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine External Operations (PFLP-EO), and by two
Germans, Wilfried Bse and Brigitte Kuhlmann, from the German Revolutionary Cells.

The hijackers diverted the flight to Benghazi, Libya.

There it was held on the ground for seven hours for refuelling.

During that time the hijackers released a female hostage who pretended to have a
miscarriage.

The plane left Benghazi, and at 3:15 pm on the 28th, more than 24 hours after the flight's
original departure, it arrived at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

The hijackers announced that the airline crew and non-Jewish passengers would be

Planning

In the week before the raid, Israel tried a number of political avenues to obtain the
release of the hostages.

At the request of the cabinet, he spoke with Amin on the phone many times, trying to
gain the release of the hostages, without success.

The Israeli government also approached the US government to deliver a message to

Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, asking him to request Amin to release the hostages.

At the deadline (1 July),the Israeli government offered to negotiate with the hijackers to
extend the deadline to 4 July.

This meant he could take a diplomatic trip to Port Louis, Mauritius to officially hand over
chairmanship of the Organisation of African Unity to Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.

This extension of the hostage deadline proved crucial to providing Israeli forces enough
time to get to Entebbe.

On 3 July, at 18:30, the Israeli cabinet approved the rescue mission, presented by Major
General Yekutiel "Kuti" Adam and Brig.

Attack Route

Taking off from Sharm al-Sheikh,the task force flew down the international
flight path over the Red Sea, mostly flying at a height of no more than 30
m (100 ft) to avoid radar detection by Egyptian, Sudanese, and Saudi
Arabian forces.

Near the south outlet of the Red Sea the C-130s turned south and passed
south of Djibouti.

They turned west, passing through the African Rift Valley and over Lake
Victoria.

Two Boeing 707 jets followed the cargo planes.

The first Boeing contained medical facilities and landed at Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.

The commander of the operation, General Yekutiel Adam, was on board the
second Boeing, which circled over Entebbe Airport during the raid.

Contd

The Israeli forces landed at Entebbe at 23:00 IST, with their cargo bay doors already open.

A black Mercedes that looked like President Idi Amin's vehicle and Land Rovers that
usually accompanied Amin's Mercedes were brought along.

The Israelis hoped they could use them to bypass security checkpoints.

When the C-130s landed, Israeli assault team members drove the vehicles to the terminal
building in the same fashion as Amin.

As they approached the terminal, two Ugandan sentries, aware that Idi Amin had recently
purchased a white Mercedes, ordered the vehicles to stop.

The commandos shot the sentries using silenced pistols, but did not kill them.

As they pulled away, however, an Israeli commando in one of the following Land Rovers
killed them with an unsuppressed rifle.

Fearing the hijackers would be alerted prematurely, the assault team quickly approached
the terminal.

Commemorations

In August 2012, Uganda and Israel commemorated the raid at a somber

ceremony at the base of a tower at the Old Entebbe Airport, where
Yonatan Netanyahu was killed.

Uganda and Israel renewed their commitment in the fight against

terrorism and to work towards humanity.

In addition, wreaths were laid, a moment of silence was held, speeches

were given, and a poem was recited.

The flags of Uganda and Israel waved side by side, demonstrating the two
countries' strong bilateral relations, next to a plaque with a history of the
raid.

The ceremony was attended by Ugandan State Minister for Animal

Industry Bright Rwamirama and the deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of
Israel Daniel Ayalon, who laid wreaths at the site

Aftermath

The government of Uganda, represented by the Foreign Minister Juma Oris, later
convened a session of the United Nations Security Council to seek official condemnation
of the Israeli raid,as a violation of Ugandan sovereignty.

The Security Council ultimately declined to pass any resolution on the matter,
condemning neither Israel nor Uganda.

In the ensuing years, Betser and the Netanyahu brothersIddo and Benjamin, all Sayeret
Matkal veteransargued in increasingly public forums about who was to blame for the
unexpected early firefight that caused Yonatan's death and partial loss of tactical
surprise.

As a result of the operation, the United States military developed highly trained rescue
teams modelled on the Entebbe rescue.

One notable attempt to imitate it was Operation Eagle Claw, a failed rescue of 53
American embassy personnel held hostage in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis.

References

http://www.ynetnews.com/PicServer2/20122005/820910/D388-046_wa.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/w4iI3Hl74sg/ThHoSK9WvOI/AAAAAAAAB3Y/c7HDoDoD0KM/s1600/Raid-on-Entebbe.jpg

https://therearenosunglasses.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/_41831366_plane_416.jpg

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Operation_Entebbe.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Entebbe#Raid_Preparation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Entebbe

THANK YOU