The Entebbe raid or Operation Entebbe, officially codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda. It was launched in response to the hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight operated by Air France between the cities of Tel Aviv and Paris. During a stopover in Athens, the aircraft was hijacked by two Palestinian PFLP–EO and two German RZ members, who diverted the flight to Libya and then to Uganda, where they landed at Entebbe International Airport to be joined by other terrorists. Once in Uganda, the group enjoyed support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, more commonly known as Sayeret Matkal, is the special reconnaissance unit (sayeret) of Israel's General Staff (matkal). It is considered one of the premier special forces units of Israel.
The Second Republic of Uganda existed from 1971 to 1979, when Uganda was ruled by Idi Amin's military dictatorship. Amin's rule formally came to an end with the Uganda-Tanzania War, which ended with Tanzania occupying Uganda and Amin fleeing into exile.
The 35th Paratroopers Brigade is an Israeli military airborne infantry brigade. It forms a major part of the Israeli Ground Forces' Infantry Corps, and has a history of carrying out special operations from the 1950s onwards. Soldiers of the brigade wear maroon berets with the Infantry Corps pin and russet boots.
Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu was an Israeli military officer who commanded Sayeret Matkal during the Entebbe raid. The raid was launched in response to the 1976 hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight from Israel to France by Palestinian and German militants, who took control of the aircraft during a stopover in Greece and diverted it to Libya and then to Uganda, where they received support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Though Israel's counter-terrorist operation was a success, with 102 of the 106 hostages being rescued, Netanyahu was killed in action – the only Israeli soldier killed during the crisis.
Lieutenant General Daniel Shomron was the 13th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), from 1987 to 1991.
Bruce Roy McKenzie EGH was a South African-born Kenyan politician. He was the Minister of Agriculture in Kenya during the presidency of Jomo Kenyatta, to whom he was an adviser. He is alleged to have been an agent for British, South African or Israeli intelligence. He was assassinated on the orders of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
Victory at Entebbe is a 1976 American made-for-television action-drama film for broadcast on ABC, directed by Marvin J. Chomsky. The film starred Helmut Berger, Linda Blair, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Dreyfuss, and Kirk Douglas. Julius Harris portrayed Idi Amin, following the fatal heart attack suffered by the actor originally cast in the role, Godfrey Cambridge. The film was theatrically released in Europe.
Operation Thunderbolt, known in Israel as Mivtsa Yonatan, also called Entebbe: Operation Thunderbolt in the US, is a 1977 Israeli film directed and co-written by Menahem Golan and starring Klaus Kinski, Yehoram Gaon and Sybil Danning. The film is based on an actual event – the hijacking of a flight by terrorists and the freeing of Israeli hostages on July 4, 1976. The operation was known as at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Operation Thunderbolt follows the events following the flight's takeoff until the hostages' return to Israel. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Wilfried Bonifatius Böse was a German militant who was a founding member of the German organization Revolutionäre Zellen that was described in the early 1980s as one of Germany's most dangerous left-wing terrorist groups by the West German Interior Ministry. He carried out attacks in Germany and in 1976 was involved in the hijacking of Air France Flight 139, that led to his death in Entebbe, Uganda during the Israeli operation to free the hostages.
Brigitte Kuhlmann was a German terrorist who was a founding member of the West German left-wing terrorist group Revolutionäre Zellen. She was killed by the Israel Defense Forces in Entebbe, Uganda, during Operation Entebbe.
The history of the Jews in Uganda is connected to some local tribes who have converted to Judaism, such as the Abayudaya, down to the twentieth century when Uganda under British control was offered to the Jews of the world as a "Jewish homeland" under the British Uganda Programme known as the "Uganda Plan" and culminating with the troubled relationship between Ugandan leader Idi Amin with Israel that ended with Operation Entebbe known as the "Entebbe Rescue" or "Entebbe Raid" of 1976.
Israel–Uganda relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Israel and Uganda. Neither country has a resident ambassador. Uganda has a non-resident ambassador in Cairo.
Michel Bacos was a French airline pilot. He was the captain of Air France Flight 139 when it was hijacked on 27 June 1976 by terrorists belonging to the German Revolutionary Cells (RZ) and the Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO). The hijacking was part of an international campaign of Palestinian terrorism.
Events in the year 1976 in Israel.
Dora Bloch (née Feinberg; Hebrew: דורה בלוך; was an Israeli hostage on Air France Flight 139 on 26 June 1976. Taking off from Tel Aviv, Israel, and destined for Paris, France, the plane soon landed in Athens, Greece, for a scheduled stopover and was subsequently hijacked by two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two Germans from the Revolutionary Cells, who rerouted to Benghazi, Libya, and then to Entebbe, Uganda, where they received support from Ugandan president Idi Amin. Bloch, who had become ill during the flight, was taken to a hospital in Kampala and was therefore not among the 102 hostages who were rescued when Israel executed Operation Thunderbolt aka 'Operation Yonatan' on 4 July 1976.
Entebbe is a 2018 action thriller film directed by José Padilha and written by Gregory Burke. The film recounts the story of the Entebbe raid, a 1976 counter-terrorist hostage-rescue operation, and stars Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl.
The Battle of Entebbe was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place on 7 April 1979 on the Entebbe peninsula in Uganda between Tanzanian units and Ugandan and Libyan units. The Tanzanians occupied the area, killed hundreds of Libyans, and ended the Libyan airlift in support of the Ugandan government.
Isaac Lumago was a Ugandan military officer who served as chief of staff for the Uganda Army from 1977 to 1978, and later became leader of the Former Uganda National Army (FUNA).
Uganda People's Defence Force Air Force, more commonly known as the Ugandan Air Force, is a branch of the Uganda People's Defence Force. Its headquarters are located at Entebbe, Uganda. The current air force commander is Charles Lutaaya, while Emmanuel Kwihangana serves as chief of air staff.
