Operation
Thunderbolt – Surprise attack on the Airport and rescue of Hostages
Israel
since the end of Six Day war has always been subjected to hostage crisis,
terrorist attack but every attack that terrorist committed on Israel, The
retribution was given back on fullest scale. On 5th September 1972
terrorist belonging to Palestinian Terror groups called BLACK SEPTEMBER
attacked the Israeli Olympians in Munich Olympic Village during the Munich
Olympics. The result of the attack and botched up rescue by German Police was
six Coaches and six Athletes of Israel killed with five black September members
and one West German police. This attack shook the world but what world did was
to be a mute spectator to Israeli plight. On the other then Israeli Prime
minister Golda Meir ordered a strong retribution that any terror group should
fear attacking Israel. Then started the OPERATION BAYONETA directed by MOSSAD
to kill members of Black September and other wanted terrorist. Mossad
Intelligence officer Michael Harari was given the responsibility to carry
out Operation Bayoneta which concluded on January 22nd, 1979 when Ali Hassen
Salameh was killed in Bierut. Coming back to the fact despite all these Israel
was never worried about the war or conflict because as PM Golda Meir once said
Israeli secret weapon itself is the Mediterranean Sea because that is the place
where Israel have to retreat in case of attack and that always kept them
fighting.
The
Hijack
On June 27th
1976, Air France flight 139 departs from Lod International Airport, Tel Aviv
with 246 Passengers and Crew of 12 piloted by Captain Michel Bacos to Athens En
route to Paris. In Athens there are additional 58 Passengers who board the
flight. In Athens Ellinikon International Airport security is lapsed as Metal
Detector and X-Ray scanner is unmanned due to which four Terrorist make to the
plane. At 12:30 PM the plane departs to Paris and soon after the take off the
terrorist Wilfried Böse, Brigitte Kuhlmann of German Revolutionary Cells with Wadie
Haddad and one more terrorist of Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine's confront the veteran Pilot Captain Michel Bacos is confronted with
hijack for first time in his twenty years of his service. The Terrorist plant
explosives along the Aisles and collect the passport of the passengers. For
European ATC the Flight falls silent and to Israel Intelligence this is the
cause of worry and they immediately flash a message to Prime Minister Yitzack
Rabin. Right Away Tel Aviv Lod Airport moves into emergency gear and forces are
put on High Alert. The Disappearance of flight is registered and the Israeli
Forces are on Alert to rescue the plane if it is land back, but nothing is
heard at the moment.
En
Route to the Final Destination
As anxious Israeli Forces wait for an update
about the flight, the Hijackers command the Crew to take the flight to
Benghazi, Libya. Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi though is sympathetic to the
Palestinian cause but he doesn’t allow the Flight to stay in Libya rather he
allows the flight to refuel in Benghazi. The Flight 139 stays in Benghazi for
close to seven hours and during that time one of the passengers Patricia
Martell complains of bleeding stating that she might be miscarrying and need
immediate medical assistance. The Hijackers release her and she heads to London
from Benghazi in a special flight and in London she gives the world the first
hand information about the Hijack and state of the passengers. Mossad gets in
touch with the released passenger and now every single word is recorded and
examined. At 3:15 PM on 28th June, the Plane lifts off from Benghazi
and again the Israelis and the passengers try to think of the next destination
like Amman, Cairo, Beirut but to everyone’s surprise the Flight lands in
Entebbe Airport in Uganda and the flight is received by Then Ugandan Dictator
Idi Amins Forces and to the passengers woes, Four more terrorist join the
hijackers. Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin
makes a visit to the airport and meets the passengers which make the woes of
passengers worse. Israeli PM Yitzack Rabin asks his generals to plan a scheme
of action to bring back the hostages safely back.
Hijackers
Declaration, Demands and Action
On 28th
June, Monday, the Hijackers issue statement regarding the incident which is
relayed in Radio Kampala. As per the Demands which are that they demanded the
release of 53 Terrorist/Prisoners (40 in Israel and 13 in other countries)
which included Lod Airport Massacre convict Kozo Okamoto (Japanese rebel) and
Arch Bishop Hilarion Capucci (who was
arrested by security forces of Israel for smuggling weapons into the West Bank
in a Mercedes sedan). In Addition to the prisoners the hijackers also demanded five
million dollars as ransom. The deadline was set to July 1st,
Thursday and failing to which the execution of the hostages will start. With
the demands being told, Israeli government is in a fix to act as complying with
the demands will encourage future terrorism but the options available to rescue
is very minimal. With the pressure from the upper military echelons and people
rise, Israeli government prepares to negotiate with the terrorist.
Israel
to Libya: Distance and Relationship
Israel and Libya had
a good diplomatic relationship for several decades. Amin visited Israel in 1971 and
was toasted by Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Dayan. The Israelis were
responsible for supplying and training much of the Ugandan Army and for
undertaking several construction projects in the country. By
March 1972, Amin had ordered all Israelis expelled from Uganda. One report says
Amin became enraged over Israel's refusal to supply Uganda with jets for a war
with neighboring Tanzania. Amin became an outspoken critic of Israel. The
distance between Israel and Libya was 2500 Miles and without any diplomatic
contact in Uganda, the situation was not in favor of Israel. Though there is no
diplomatic contact in Uganda, it is established that an Israeli company was
given the contract to build the old terminal of the Entebbe Airport where the
hostages are being kept. Right away the Israeli defense forces are presented
with the Schematics and floor plan of the Entebbe Old terminal. Also Then
Mossad’s high ranking official & Ex Prime minister of Israel Ehud Barak is dispatched
to Kenya to see the possible rescue mechanisms. If Israel has to work out any
rescue mechanism there needs a support from atleast one West African nation to
help Israel but every single nation was sympathetic but unwilling to support
Israel as they feared the wrath of Idi Amin. Ehud Barak and another Mossad
Operative called Micheal Harari were working out possibly a mechanism in Kenya
to urge their government to help Israel.
Meanwhile
in Entebbe Old Terminal
Meanwhile on 29thJune
unexpected thing happened in the old terminal. All of the sudden there was a
segregation of Passengers based on one Criteria JEWS and GENTILES. One of the
passengers in the list was a holocaust survivor who stated if this could happen today what
good is ISRAEL for? On 30th June 48 Hostages among the Non
Israeli’s were released and flown to Paris and few hours later another 100
Gentiles were released. With French and other countries citizens rescued every
one other Israel take a low profile or a right word would MUTE SPECTATOR. In this juncture Captain of the Flight Michel Bacos
ask his crew if they would stay back and the crew take their captain stand and
stay back with the 94 passengers. With Minimal Hopes of rescue the hostages receive
news that their government is negotiating with the Terrorist.
Planning,
Delay, Negotiation, Mathematics and Geography
As the deadline day July
1st Thursday approached and the Israeli government was still
discussing with its echelons to decide how to move about. At last the defense
Minister Shimon Peres requests the terrorist to extend the deadline as they are
working with other countries on freeing the hostages. As defense minister
requested the terrorist he called the then Army Chief General mordechai gur to
present a plan to rescue. Right away General mordechai gur summons Major
General yekutiel adam to formulate a plan of rescue. As the terrorist have
accepted the deadline extension the new deadline would be 4th July Sunday.
With the deadline extended a plan is worked out. Four Hercules C130 Aircraft
will take off from Sharm el Shiek Base in Sinai and will travel across red sea,
Egypyt, Sudan, Kenya and land in Entebbe and create a surprise element, overpower
the terrorist and rescue the hostages. Two Boeing Aircraft one Hospital ship
and other command center for the operation will follow the Hercules squadron.
Though the plan is
approved but PM Rabin is still not convinced as the satellite imagery and other
data is not sufficient to confirm the state of security and hostages in the Entebbe.
He is still working to see if there can be some new data available to know if
all hostages are safe and they are in Entebbe airport or not. At this time
Major General yekutiel adam, Brigadier General Dan Shomron and other officers
insists Peres and Rabin that if they don’t start on time they are likely to
miss the surprise element and they may not get the window further. The time
chosen for the operation was 3rd July Saturday 11 PM as there was
one British Airways flight was to refuel at the same time and if they land
right after the British Airways Flight the Radar signature may not be noticed.
Hence to follow this cramped schedule the very essence was to start at Mid day
on 3rd to make sure all resources are in place.
Lt Colonel Jonathan
Netanyahu who was injured in Yom Kippur War was back in action; though 60% fit
it was his unit of SAYARET MATKAL Special Forces who were chosen for this mission.
As per the plan it was decided Lt Col. Netanyahu will be the Officer in charge
of overpowering the terrorist with his Lt. Moki Betzer.
The Task Force was:
Lead C130: Lt. Col.
Netanyahu, Lt. Betzer and 27 operatives cramped in one Black Mercedes and 2
Land Rovers
Second C 130:
Paratroopers force Led by Col. Matan Vilnai will secure the runway and make
sure refueling of the Hercules happens.
Third C130: Golani
Forces led by Col Uri Sagi will take care of the rescuing the hostages.
Fourth C130: Sayaret
Matkel Forces led by Major Shaul Mofaz will eliminate any resistance on ground
and destroy the Ugandan Air force planes to avoid interception.
One Boeing: Hospital
Ship
Second Boeing:
Mission commander Major General yekutiel adam and his team to co ordinate.
On 2nd
July the Mission forces were given a day off so that they could be with their
families which they thought would be the last day in their houses. Meanwhile in
the Entebbe terminal most hostages are ill after eating rancid meat. Among
those hostages one 74 years old Dora Bloch falls ill and she is taken away to
Kampala hospital for treatment.
Raid:
So it Begins
3rd June
just hours to go before the mission crew take off, The Cabinet is still
discussing on the issue to say if they can proceed as per the mission. In this
juncture PM Rabin is informed that even if the planes take off the beyond point
of no return is still 4 hours away so we can recall the planes and based on
this fact the planes take off from the Secret Air base in Sinai. Critically one
Mossad agent Micheal Harari who runs a small company in Kenya takes his plane and
suddenly informs Entebbe ATC that there is a malfunction in his plane. While
circling on low altitude photographs of the terminal is taken and entire scheme
things are finalized. These pictures reach assault team in minutes. With all
information available and to be confirmed even Ugandan Forces stay in the same
building Rabin and his cabinet decide OPERATION THUNDERBOLT is a GO!
The Seven Hour Flight
as the squadron flew through the red sea and cut through Djibouti and Ethiopia
into Kenya. Once they reached Kenyan airspace they are to take a turn in the
Lake Victoria and reach the Entebbe Airport. All throughout the flight path the
planes flew at an altitude of 30 Metres from ground to avoid Radar. Suddenly
the Airport Lights appear but the question is that whether the lights were kept
on purposefully to ambush or it was left on after the British airways flight
landed.
As the First Hercules
touched down with the ramp open, commandos in
landrover and Mercedes keep their weapon ready to assault. The assault
team travel at a speed of 40 Km/Hour towards the old terminal and as expected
the Ugandan troops looking at Black Mercedes (usually used by Idi Amin &
his high ranking officers) greeted them with a salute. At this time Lt Col.
Netanyahu fire from his silenced weapon and Muki betzer too fires. One soldier
is down and other still gets up, at this moment one of the commanders in Land
rover ask their team to fire a burst from AK’s and thereby surprise element is
broken. And the moment of assault has come and the commando forces storm into
the terminal and take on the terrorist. As the second Hercules touch down the
runway lights are off. Jean-Jacques
Maimoni, a 19-year-old French immigrant to Israel, stood up and was killed when
Israeli company commander Muki Betzer and another soldier mistook him for a
hijacker and fired at him. Another hostage, Pasco Cohen, 52, a region
manager at the Meuhedet health fund, was also fatally wounded by gunfire
from the commandos. In addition, a third hostage, 56-year-old Ida
Borochovitch, a Russian Jew who had immigrated to Israel, was killed by a
hijacker in the crossfire. Meanwhile all the Hercules Touch down and create
havoc across Entebbe terminal by destroying the Ugandan Mig’s to avoid any
interception.
As the assault was done except for the
Master mind Waddie Hadad all other terrorist were killed and the forces were
guiding the hostages to the planes. At this moment one of the sons of Idi Amin
shot at Lt Col. Netanyahu thereby killing him. Soon the forces over power the Ugandan
soldiers firing from ATC tower and kill them. At this moment the assault team
receives the message that Kenya has granted the permission to refuel in the
Nairobi Airport. Out
of the 106 hostages, 3 were killed, 1 was left in Uganda (74-year-old Dora
Bloch) and rests were all safe and boarded the flight. The entire Operation
lasted 53 minutes and assault was 30 minutes. This was a touch and go operation
were every single move went as expected.
Post
Raid
With the hostages
rescued the assault team was sad that their mission leader Lt. Col. Netanyahu
has been killed. At somewhere around 4 AM on 4th July the last
Hercules leave Kenya to Israel. The only evidence of the raid was the blood
stains and burning MIG’s in the Entebbe. Meanwhile the world awakes with the
news that the hostages have been rescued in the most dramatic manner and for
israeli’s they would be thinking what were they doing while the raid was done. The
most important element of the raid was that the mission didn’t leak which
includes even Kenya as once raid was successful Kenya was informed and asked
for permission. Of course not to mention Kenyan Minister Bruce Mckenzie helped
Israel in the big way and for this help to Israel he was assassinated by Idi
Amin. One hostage left in Uganda was ordered to be killed by Idi Amin. And
among all the current Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu (who was
veteran of the Sayerat Matkel with Ehud Barak) was hit with tragedy as his
Elder brother Lt Col. Jonathan Netanyahu was killed in action. This raid was
possible because of not just might but able leaders with tradition. Among them Major
General yekutiel adam was considered to be the best as an cool head and daring
in his profession. If not for his planning and ownership of the PM rabin, the
raid is never an GO AHEAD.
Remember when whole
world stood mute one nation took things on its own and got back what it wants.
July 4th may be an Independence Day for USA, but for 106 hostages
this july 4th 1976 will always be an Independence day.
TRIBUTE TO ISRAELI
DEFENCE FORCES ON THIS DAY!
As my country Prime
Minister Narendra Modi set foot as the First Indian PM in Israel, I would
dedicate this to all my fellow isreali brothers and sisters for the guts and
grit they have displayed in combating terrorism.
--
Venkats
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