Alan Skorski sat down for an interview with former IDF General and paratroop commander, Matan Vilnai, who along with Muki Betser and Yonaton Netanyahu, led Israel’s elite unit, the Sayeret Matkal, to perform the greatest military rescue of hostages in history.
On June 27th 1976, a French airliner was hijacked en route from Israel to France. After stopping in Athens, the airliner was hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and West German terrorists, then flown to Entebbe, Uganda, following a brief stopover in Libya.
The hijackers demanded the release of 53 terrorists imprisoned in Israel, Kenya, and West Germany. In response, following failed attempts to get the hostages released through diplomatic channels, on July 3, Israel dispatched four Hercules cargo planes carrying over 100 soldiers, and escorted by Phantom jet fighters.
While the planes were dispatched on July 3, the mission wasn’t officially approved by the Knesset until they were in the air for 2.5 hours of a 7 hour flight. The mission itself took place on July 4.
After flying roughly 2,500 miles from Israel to Uganda, the Israeli forces rescued the hostages within an hour after landing.
During this historic rescue, 3 hostages were killed in the crossfire, and another hostage, Dora Bloch, was murdered by Ugandan troops while in a Ugandan hospital.
The operation, initially code-named Operation Thunderbolt, was later renamed Operation Yonatan, after it’s leader Yonatan Nentayahu was killed during the rescue.
During the interview Skorski asked General Vilnai questions like where he was when news broke of the hijacking, what thoughts went through the minds of him and his colleagues about the potential of a successful rescue mission, and what his feelings are now, 50 years later.
Listen to the interview for the real inside story of how the entire operation unfolded from beginning to end, and whom General Vilnai credits for the success of the mission, and what was the most important lesson learned from Entebbe.
Note: General Vilnai is featured on the far right of the ramp by the Black Mercedes as they rolled the car back out onto the tarmac upon their safe return to Israel.
