Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu visit Uganda site of Israel hostages
Netanyahu visit Uganda site of Israel hostages, it was an audacious rescue mission, one that has taken on mythical proportions and is the subject of books and movies ever in reality. Palestinian and German terrorists hijacked an Air France flight that was on its way from Tel Aviv to Paris on 27th June 1976. 248 passengers from several nations and 12 members of the crew were taken to the airport in Entebbe. This was with the help of then Uganda iron man Idi Amin Dada, they were held in a rundown terminal until Israeli commandos raided the airport one night in only 90minutes.
Entebbe Airport Today 4th July 2016, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will participate in a ceremony at Entebbe to mark the 40th anniversary of the rescue mission. He will become the first Israeli prime minister to visit the country since the crisis and the first in sub-Saharan Africa in 30 years.
The raid at Entebbe is remembered by many Israelis as one of the country’s greatest military feats, and it changed the way governments worldwide confront terrorism. Netanyahu’s brother, Lt. Col. Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, who led the assault team, was the only Israeli soldier killed there.
Initially called Operation Thunderbolt, the mission was later renamed Operation Yonatan in his honor. The operation inspired Netanyahu’s political career. The story started when members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells, a spin-off of the Baader-Meinhof Gang, a radical left-wing group, commandeered the plane. The hijackers demanded the release of dozens of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian prisoners.
The plan was to land the planes in darkness in Entebbe, and then send a small team into the terminal to kill the terrorists. A Boeing would circle above giving commands from the air, as a medical team waited in nearby Nairobi. The Israelis dressed as Ugandan soldiers were supposed to bypass the Ugandan military guards.
But a Ugandan sentry called out “advance!” to the car. Netanyahu was convinced he was suspicious and shot him, and a follow-up team took him out with a round of gunfire, which alerted the terrorists that something was afoot. Less than a minute later, as the first group stormed the terminal, Netanyahu was hit by sniper fire. Overall, the operation saved 101 hostages, however, three of the hostages were killed in crossfire at the airport.