tion Department of MI, was dispatched to Paris with Lieutenant
Colonel Amnon Biran to collect all possible information from the
erstwhile hostages. Arriving in Paris on 1 July 1976, they were taken
by Mossadcase officers to the hotels where the returnees were stay-
ing. Most of the hostages were tired and confused and remembered
few details, but there were two exceptions, with phenomenal memo-
ries, who provided relevant and accurate information. One of these
was a retired French parachute officer, who during his stay in the ter-
minal had planned his escape; he took note of the most relevant
details—locations of doors and windows, entrances and exits, the hi-
jackers’ security procedures and their positions. He, together with
Michele Cojot, provided details of the hijackers’ habits, the internal
division of the terminal’s halls, the location of the hostages, and the
places of the explosives planted by the hijackers.
While planning the military operation, the IDF built a partial
replica of the airport building. Some Israeli civilians who worked on
the reconstruction of the replica had worked on the project itself in
Uganda. These civilians were formally sworn to absolute secrecy.
After several days of collecting intelligence and careful planning,
four C-130 Hercules transport aircraft flew to Entebbe airport and
night-landed without any aid from the ground. The mission of the
personnel on board was to free the remaining hostages. They were
followed by an Israeli Air Force jet with medical facilities that flew
into Nairobi, Kenya. More than 100 Israeli troops, including mem-
bers of the elite Sayeret Matkalteam, arrived to conduct the assault.
Some Mossad operatives might also have taken part, providing assis-
tance on the ground.
The aircraft landed an hour before midnight on 3 July 1976, with
the cargo bay doors already open. A black Mercedes with accompa-
nying jeeps were brought, to divert attention: this cavalcade would
hopefully be taken to signify the arrival of a high Ugandan official
with his escort, possibly Idi Amin himself. The Mercedes was owned
by an Israeli civilian and was apparently spray-painted black for the
raid, on the understanding it would be returned to the owner in its
original color. The Israeli troops drove from the aircraft to the termi-
nal building.
The raid took place during the early hours of 4 July 1976 and lasted
only about three minutes. Six or eight terrorists were killed. All theYEHONATHAN OPERATION• 31906-102 (04) Q-Z.qxd 3/24/06 7:26 AM Page 319