Operation Entebbe, 1976

Operation Entebbe, 1976 [File photo]

On June 27, 1976, an Air France plane with 248 passengers on board was hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells. The terrorists released non-Jewish people in Libya, and then they flew to Entebbe, the main airport in Uganda. The local government supported the hijackers and held 103 hostages in the airport lounge. On July 4, 1976, commandos of the Israel Defense Forces carried out the counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission which was called Operation Entebbe. One commando, three hostages and seven terrorists were killed.