---
category: Terrorism
date: 1976-06-27
location: Entebbe Airport, Uganda
summary: 1976 hijacking of an Air France jet by the Baader-Meinhof Group, ended by
  a daring Israeli commando rescue raid at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
tags:
- Event
- Terrorism
- Uganda
- Israel
---

The [Entebbe hijacking](/events/entebbe-hijacking/) occurred on June 27, 1976, when an [Air France](/organizations/air-france/) jet flying from [Tel Aviv](/places/tel-aviv/) to [Paris](/places/paris/) was hijacked by members of the [Baader-Meinhof Group](/organizations/baader-meinhof-group/). The plane was diverted to Athens and then landed at [Entebbe Airport](/places/entebbe-airport/) in [Uganda](/places/uganda/). Non-[Israeli](/places/israel/) passengers were released, but [Israeli](/places/israel/) and other passengers remained captive.[^1]

[Israel](/places/israel/) decided to mount a commando raid to rescue the passengers. [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) was part of a backup team, flying to Nairobi in an Air Force Boeing 707 to serve as a listening post. The raid was successful.[^1]

Relations between [Israel](/places/israel/) and [Idi Amin](/people/idi-amin/), then president of [Uganda](/places/uganda/), were strained at the time. [Amin](/people/idi-amin/) had been installed in a military coup planned by former [Israeli](/places/israel/) military attaché Col. Baruch Bar Lev, but relations deteriorated after [Col. Muammar Qaddafi](/people/muammar-qaddafi/) of [Libya](/places/libya/) promised money to black African nations if they cut ties with [Israel](/places/israel/).[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.