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Operation Entebbe

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd right) is joined by family and friends at a memorial for his brother Yonatan, who was killed in the operation to free Israeli hostages at Entebbe, at Mount Herzl military cemetery, Jerusalem, June 5, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
July 9, 2026, 11:13 pm
Veterans of Entebbe raid to boycott state ceremony marking 50 years since rescue
Dozens who took part in rescue operation alongside PM’s slain brother say they refuse to ‘serve as window dressing’ to Netanyahu, who ‘abandoned hostages’ in Hamas tunnels
By ToI Staff
People rescued in the Entebbe raid and their relatives pose for a group photo at a 50th anniversary reunion of the operation, at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Jaffa on June 29, 2026. (JTA)
July 4, 2026, 9:29 am
At Entebbe reunion, ex-hostages say Oct. 7 shattered their faith in Israel’s promise of rescue
Fifty years on, Israelis snatched by Palestinian terrorists to Uganda as children honor the paratrooper who was paralyzed in the audacious rescue operation
By Deborah Danan
Five-year-old Ella Rosenkovitch is held and kissed at celebrations following the return of return of Israeli hostages from Entebbe, July 4, 1976. 'I don't know who the man in this picture is,' she says. (Courtesy)
July 4, 2026, 8:07 am
Rescued at Entebbe 50 years ago, former child hostage feels her experience resonating today
Ella Rosenkovitch was on her way to visit grandparents with her family when their flight was hijacked to Uganda by terrorists. Half a century later, the memories pushed her to speak out
By Zev Stub
News editor Ben Sales appears on the Daily Briefing podcast with host Jessica Steinberg (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
June 30, 2026, 2:41 pm
Daily Briefing June 30: Why Netanyahu won’t publicly take on Trump over Iran
News editor Ben Sales reviews PM’s status during 2015 Iran deal and now, Israel-opposition as a unifying factor in NYC primaries, and new details about the 1976 raid on Entebbe
By Jessica Steinberg and Ben Sales
A cheering crowd at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport raises a member of the rescue squad that freed the hijacked hostages from Uganda earlier in the day, July 4, 1976. In the background is the C-130 transport plane that took part in the raid. The rescuer's face is obscured for security reasons. (AP Photo/Pool)
June 27, 2026, 10:51 am
‘Operation Thunderbolt’: 50 years to the heroic raid on Entebbe
ToI’s movie maven and deputy editor discuss the 1977 Israeli adventure film based on the real-life daring IDF rescue of over 100 hostages from Uganda that had taken place only a year earlier
By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Jordan Hoffman
Michel Cojot as a young man visiting New York. (From 'To Kill A Nazi,' courtesy of the Cojot family)
June 20, 2026, 9:16 am
Entebbe raid’s unsung hero gets limelight in new documentary 50 years later
Filmmaker Boaz Dvir makes case that rescue operation would not have been possible without key role played by French-Jewish hostage — and would-be assassin of a Nazi — Michel Cojot
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Demonstrators in Tel Aviv protest for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, July 2, 2025. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
July 13, 2025, 4:33 am
From raids to ransom: Israel’s hostage policy has become Hamas’s sharpest weapon
Leaders once chose rescues over negotiations. But for 50 years, public pressure and new terror tactics have led Israel to pay ever steeper prices — and that’s unlikely to change
By Nava Freiberg
An woman touches photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza, displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 21, 2023 (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
November 16, 2023, 1:30 pm
Counterterrorism expert: Hamas mass abduction event may lead to global copycat attacks
Israel historically serves as a ‘guinea pig’ for acts of terror, says Reichman University’s Prof. Boaz Ganor. ‘What is different this time is the scale of the abduction’
By Tal Schneider
An anti-government protester sticks a poster with the slogan 'Don't Come Back' during a demonstration outside Ben Gurion Airport against the controversial judicial reform bill as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Germany on an official visit on March 15, 2023. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP)
March 15, 2023, 8:06 pm
‘Don’t come back’: Protesters again block airport access, as Netanyahu flight delayed
Police hand out 30 fines to demonstrators for blocking traffic starting at noon; but PM puts off departure until 10 p.m., for talks on judicial overhaul compromise
By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Entebbe hostages come home, July 4, 1976. (IDF archives)
March 5, 2023, 11:00 am
Entebbe rescue squad blasts Netanyahu for ‘sacrificing country for own interests’
Veterans cite leadership of PM’s brother, killed during operation, while calling out premier for ‘divide and rule’ tactics, blast him for comparing demonstrators to Huwara rioters
By Michael Horovitz
Israeli commandos in a black-painted Mercedes-Benz. (Defense Ministry archive)
August 23, 2021, 4:51 am
Entebbe in person: A new oral history challenges official account of 1976 rescue
Brimming with detail and at times looking to settle old scores, newly translated book ‘Entebbe Declassified’ brings voices of the commandos who took part in the legendary operation
By Judah Ari Gross
Yoni Netanyahu, in a photograph taken shortly before his death at Entebbe in 1976. (GPO, Wikimedia)
July 10, 2021, 6:43 pm
Yoni Netanyahu’s heroism was related to his emotional distress, researchers say
Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother, a special forces commander killed in Entebbe, defined himself as a savior in letters, also expressed his loneliness and inner turmoil
By ToI Staff
Golda Meir. (Yaakov Saar/GPO)
April 10, 2021, 5:46 am
Before Helen Mirren plays Golda Meir: 7 stars who played Israeli prime ministers
Anthony Hopkins, Ingrid Bergman, Lior Ashkenazi among those to have portrayed PMs in films since the 1970s
By Gabe Friedman
An Israeli grabs the arm of Theresa Khalsa at Lod International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 9, 1972. (AP Photo)
March 28, 2020, 8:14 pm
Theresa Khalsa, hijacker of 1972 Sabena flight to Tel Aviv, dies at 65
Netanyahu was injured when fellow soldier struck Khalsa and his weapon discharged as commandos stormed plane; she had been released in prisoner deal after First Lebanon War
By ToI Staff
Eric Bacos, left, son of Air France pilot Michel Bacos who remained with his passengers when they were hijacked and held captive at Entebbe in 1976, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, May 23, 2019. (Haim Tsach/GPO)
May 23, 2019, 10:14 pm
Netanyahu meets son of French pilot who stayed with Israeli hostages in Entebbe
Eric Bacos says his family owes a great debt to Israel for commando raid, led by PM’s brother, which rescued the hijacked passengers and crew
By ToI Staff
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