50 years after Operation Entebbe, Israel honors fallen commander Yoni Netanyahu
Israel released cabinet minutes and phone records showing leaders weighed negotiations while preparing a rescue that freed more than 100 hostages.
- On July 4, Israel marks 50 years since Lt.-Col. Yonatan Netanyahu was killed commanding Operation Thunderbolt, the 1976 mission that rescued more than 100 hostages from Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
- The crisis began on June 27, 1976, when Palestinian and German terrorists hijacked an Air France flight carrying more than 250 passengers and diverted it to Uganda, where dictator Idi Amin welcomed the hijackers.
- Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin authorized the operation more than 2,500 miles from Israel; Israeli commandos killed the hijackers and rescued hostages, though Netanyahu was killed leading his men into battle.
- At a memorial service at Mount Herzl two weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood at his brother's grave, reflecting on the half-century since the mission and pledging to carry forward his legacy.
- Quoting his brother's writings, Netanyahu noted Yoni's belief that Israel's survival required sacrifice, linking the raid to the state's commitment to defend its citizens and confront terrorism wherever it emerges.
9 Articles
9 Articles
At Entebbe reunion, former hostages say Oct. 7 shattered their faith in Israel’s promise of rescue
The raid that saved more than 100 Israelis in Uganda on July 4, 1976, is one of Israel's most mythologized military operations. The post At Entebbe reunion, former hostages say Oct. 7 shattered their faith in Israel’s promise of rescue appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Fifty years ago, Israeli special forces in Uganda's Entebbe ended an abduction of aircraft and liberated more than a hundred hostages. The command action is also part of German history.
'Then they heard Hebrew'
Fifty years after “Operation Entebbe,” Gadi Ilan still doesn’t first remember the gunfire. Or the explosions.Or even the moment he saw his commander, Lt. Col. Yonatan (“Yoni”) Netanyahu, commander of the elite Sayeret Matkal (General Staff Reconnaissance) unit and the older brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, struck by enemy fire.He remembers the hostages.“If there is one thing I need to single out about the operation,”…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
