Original subtitles

Narrator: An international flight hijacked by armed terrorists

is flown to hostile territory.

Every few hours, they say that they are going to execute us.

Narrator: Demands are made.

Deadlines are set.

[ Gun cocks ]

An elite special-forces team known as the unit

moves into action.

To kill someone is relatively simple.

To rescue someone is much more complicated.

Narrator: As time is running out,

a daring plan is launched from thousands of Miles away.

It will stand as one of the most bold special-force operations

in modern history.

[ Machine-gun fire ]

Narrator: Now on "black ops," behind the scenes of

one of the most daring rescue missions ever made --

operation thunderbolt.

-- Captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by discovery communications

air France flight 139 from Tel Aviv to Paris

makes a stopover in Athens.

On board the airplane are 248 passengers and crew members.

I was putting nail Polish on my nails,

and we were talking to the girls sitting in front of us.

I didn't suspect anything.

Narrator: Shortly after takeoff, terrorists storm the cockpit.

One of them takes over the radio

and announces the flight is hijacked.

No one knows where it's headed.

In Jerusalem, a routine cabinet meeting is interrupted,

and the message is delivered to prime minister yitzhak rabin.

Defense minister shimon peres is also getting the news.

Peres: A man came in

and handed me over a small piece of information

that said that an air France plane was hijacked.

Good evening.

An air France jet was hijacked by palestinian guerillas today.

Narrator: The hijacking of flight 139

is just the latest in a string of terrorist attacks

targeting Israeli citizens.

[ Machine-gun fire ]

[ Camera shutter clicking ] 4 years earlier, in 1972,

11 Israeli athletes were killed

in an attack on their compound at the Munich Olympics.

[ Siren wailing ]

[ Machine-gun fire ]

In the same year,

terrorists shot and killed 26 passengers

waiting for their luggage in Tel Aviv's airport.

[ Gunfire ]

And in 1974,

terrorists sieged a high school in northern Israel,

killing 22,

most of them young students.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

Immediately after the hijacking,

Israeli special forces are put on high alert.

The authorities

are expecting the plane to arrive in Tel Aviv...

But the hijackers have a different plan.

One of them is a trained pilot.

He instructs the captain to divert the flight to Libya.

Ben dor: He knew exactly how to fly an airplane,

and he had the maps that he needed,

and he followed our pilot

to see that he is taking him wherever he wants to go.

Narrator: On the ground in Libya,

one desperate passenger pretends to be having a miscarriage

in an attempt to escape.

She is released

and is immediately met by Israeli intelligence officers.

They learn from her that there are four terrorists --

two German and two palestinian.

They're armed with guns and grenades.

The plane continued to fly,

and we didn't know to which destination.

Narrator: It is headed to Africa.

In the early hours of June 28th,

air France flight 139 lands in entebbe airport in Uganda,

more than 2,000 Miles from Tel Aviv.

At first, the passengers think the crisis is coming to an end.

They told us we are going to be released in Uganda.

Narrator: But as soon as they get off the plane,

their hopes are dashed.

There were two rows of ugandan soldiers

standing with guns,

and we were in the middle

and they led us into the terminal of entebbe.

That was the second very big shock.

Ben dor: We were sure that we are free -- free to go.

And then we saw that

lots of ugandan soldiers are waiting for us there,

and six more terrorists were waiting for us there.

Narrator: Instead of being released, they're led to

an unused terminal in entebbe airport.

They told us that we are going to stay there.

And later, they brought us mattresses and blankets.

Narrator: Soon, they receive a visit from idi amin,

Uganda's unpredictable and ruthless ruler.

He offers his services as a mediator in the crisis.

Negotiations between the hijackers and ugandan officials,

led by president idi amin, were at a stalemate,

but the hijackers did allow the plane's 256 passengers

to wait in the airport lounge.

Narrator: In Jerusalem, the cabinet ministers

are wondering if amin can be trusted.

Peres: We didn't know yet,

is it in coordination with Uganda people,

was it prearranged?

We didn't have the slightest idea.

Narrator: The hijackers still haven't issued any demands.

The passengers, unsure of their fate,

spend a nervous night in entebbe airport.

In the morning,

the terrorists make an announcement.

Davidson: They are going to separate part of us to the other room,

and it will be more comfort for all of us.

It sounds reasonable.

Ben dor: They started to call us by names.

After the first few names,

we understood that they are calling

the Israeli people and the Jewish people.

It was a very frightening moment.

Narrator: For many passengers,

the process of a selection between Jews and non-Jews

bears echoes of the holocaust.

Davidson: It's such a despair.

It's such a feeling of, "that's it -- the end,"

because you can't do anything.

And we knew that

they are going to release all the others.

Peres: They separated between Jews and non-Jews.

The fact that they are Germans and they made a separation

really made me outraged.

Narrator: In Jerusalem,

the leaders anxiously follow the news reports from entebbe

as the terrorists announce their demands.

But the hijackers threatened to kill

the more than 200 remaining hostages,

including 7 Americans,

unless Israel and 4 other countries

release 53 pro-palestinian prisoners.

Narrator: The hijackers set a deadline for their demands.

Eiran: The terrorists sent us a message

that if they are not going to get the answer

in the next 12 hours or 10 hours,

they'll start to execute passengers one by one,

on an hourly basis.

Narrator: Israel has a long-standing policy

not to give in to terrorists' demands.

Defense minister shimon peres

knows he needs to start setting in motion a response.

Peres: If we can find a political way, why not?

But parallel, I started to look for a military solution.

[ Machine-gun fire ]

Narrator: Peres will turn to the Israeli defense forces.

They have a reputation as

one of the best-trained armies in the world.

Its elite special-forces units

have carried out many daring operations.

They had a force that was capable.

The consequence of them failing, I think, was great.

The consequence of the success...

Was even greater.

Narrator: But Uganda is 2,000 Miles away.

Staging a rescue mission so far from home

and under such a tight deadline

seems impossible.

Israel desperately needs more time.

Narrator: Armed hijackers are holding hundreds of hostages

at an airport terminal in entebbe, in Uganda.

They are demanding the release of terrorists

jailed all around the world.

Unless their demands are met within 24 hours,

they will start executing hostages.

2,000 Miles away,

the Israeli leaders are trying to devise a response.

Peres: I thought we have a chance,

with a little bit of daring -- or much daring --

and decisiveness and surprise and ingenuity,

to do the job.

Narrator: Any operation would be extremely risky.

Zinke: This was a push for an emerging country.

It happened at a period of time

where you had an emerging nation whose destiny was uncertain.

Narrator: But the intelligence is minimal.

They don't know how many terrorists are involved

or if they have the backing of the ugandan army.

They could be facing thousands

in hostile and unfamiliar territory...

...but defense minister peres

is pushing for a plan.

The first I called in was the commander of the air force,

whom I like very much.

I called in the other young commanders.

They said, "look, we have to look at a map.

"We have to check where are the radar stations,

how can we land."

Narrator: Joshua shani, one of Israel's top pilots,

gets an urgent phone call.

[ Telephone rings ] Shani: It's very unusual

to get a direct call

from the commander of the air force.

And what he wanted to know

is very basic information about the range,

about the payload that we can take,

about the fuel needed,

about the route that it's possible or not to do.

I gave him, one by one, everything he needed to know,

and then he say, "come back to the headquarters.

We'll start planning."

[ Indistinct shouting ] [ Gunfire ]

Narrator: The planners need to know

how big of a threat is the ugandan army.

They turn to muki bezer,

a commander with Israel's special forces

who knows the African forces well.

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: I was sent to train the paratroopers unit

for two years.

They asked me, "muki,

what do you know about the ugandan army?"

I said, "listen, the ugandan army

"is not exactly a well-trained army --

not like the idf, in any case."

Narrator: The planning group considers several options.

One involves dropping boats and a parachute force

into lake Victoria by entebbe.

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: We've tested parachuting into lake Victoria,

but we didn't have any experience with such things.

And Navy seals tried it, and the boats exploded.

Shani: Technically, we did not do well in the exercise.

One boat was blown up, and it was kind of...

And the second round was better,

but, say, 50% is not good enough for an operation like this.

Narrator: The risks of a failed operation start to sink in.

I thought, "if it will fail,

"it will be a boost for terrorists.

"It will be a shame for Israel.

It will make our army look as a second-rate army."

[ Indistinct shouting ]

Narrator: Meanwhile, the government is under enormous pressure

from the families of the hostages

to give in to the terrorists' demands.

Incredibly, it agrees to negotiate.

Man: The prime minister saw a representative group

and revealed that the government has decided to

negotiate with the hijackers

to secure the release of all of the hostages

and was ready to release some terrorists

held in Israeli jails in return.

[ Shouting continues ]

Eiran: Their message was,

do whatever we can to meet the terrorists' demand

and free our fathers and mothers and relatives.

Narrator: Secretly, the military planners continue to work

according to new guidelines set by the prime minister.

Eiran: One, it should be a complete surprise.

"B," the time the planes will land

and the military operation will start

should be limited to a specific number of minutes.

Narrator: Still, with no realistic military option,

the Israeli government decides to

try to pressure idi amin to solve the crisis.

An old Israeli friend of the ugandan president calls him.

The talks convince the leaders

that their only remaining option

is to mount a daring military raid.

But continuing the negotiations

may allow them to buy time to gather more intelligence.

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: We got super 8 films and photographs.

They gave us information about the distances.

We were watching TV.

Amin was coming in every evening to see them.

So intelligence was coming in slowly,

but this wasn't operational intelligence.

Narrator: On Wednesday, less than 24 hours before

the deadline they've set for executions expires,

the hijackers release the non-Israeli hostages

and allow them to fly back to Paris.

It's their first mistake.

Eiran: We sent a team to Paris to interview them.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Find out as much as we can -- details --

of what is taking place at the terminal.

Narrator: This is a critical breakthrough.

The released passengers provide them information

about the number of terrorists,

the ugandan troops helping them,

and the exact location of the hostages.

With the new intelligence,

the odds that the raid may work improve.

Interpreter: We were sure that

coming to entebbe from out of the blue,

and entebbe is so far away from Israel,

and with our force,

we can finish it in less than 2 minutes.

Magness: They're trying to gain that upper hand again,

attack the enemy on your terms,

trying to achieve that element of surprise,

and that was probably

the greatest thing they had going for them.

Narrator: Then, another piece of encouraging news arrives.

Only hours before the executions are due to begin in entebbe,

the hijackers agree to extend the deadline.

We needed time to keep quiet

and to keep their attention around the negotiations.

If the slightest rumor or indication will leak

that we have a military intention, we lost it.

Narrator: The top-secret Israeli counterterrorism team

simply known as the unit

has been put on high alert when the crisis began.

It's time to mobilize the troops.

[ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: It's a very special unit.

It's the cream of the crop.

It was developed over the years to carry out

intelligence and counterterrorism operations...

...and others we call the long arm of the idf.

Narrator: The unit has built its mystique

by carrying out the most daring missions,

operating behind enemy lines,

and rescuing hostages.

It has a significant reputation

because it took part in many special operations.

Narrator: Like other black-ops units around the world,

the unit's operators have to

go through a grueling selection camp to join.

The few who pass it are invited to the team.

The first and foremost attribute or feature is determination.

[ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: The operators need a combination of skills --

physical ability, intelligence, good technical skills,

and social skills, because it's teamwork.

Narrator: Only a few of the unit's operations

have ever been made public --

among them, rescuing hostages from terrorists

who hijacked a sabena airline flight in 1972.

When the plane arrived in Tel Aviv,

the troops pretended to be technicians coming to fix it.

They then stormed it and rescued all the passengers.

In operation spring of youth in 1973,

the unit conducted a raid in Lebanon,

killing those responsible for

the massacre of Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympics.

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: We came from the sea --

came in with the Navy seals.

We were dressed as tourists.

Ehud barak was my partner.

He was dressed as a woman.

We got to the heart of beirut

and took out three terrorist leaders in retaliation.

Peres: I thought, "those boys --

"if there is somebody in the world that can do it,

"they will do it.

"And they are ready to pay with their life

without the slightest hesitation."

Narrator: The unit is the best chance Israel has.

They only have hours to come up with the plan

before the deadline set by the terrorists expires.

[ Machine-gun fire ]

Narrator: A rescue operation by an elite commando unit

is the only hope for more than 100 hostages

held by armed terrorists.

The terrorists have issued an ultimatum

to the Israeli government.

Unless their demands are met,

they will begin to execute hostages.

In the army headquarters in Tel Aviv,

one plan that initially seemed like an outlandish idea

is starting to take shape --

sending a strike force 2,000 Miles away

and storm the terminal under the cover of darkness.

Interpreter: The plan was to send 4 planes --

the first lands 7 minutes ahead of the others.

Joshua shani will be the lead pilot.

He will fly the assault team --

29 of the unit's operators led by yoni netanyahu.

With him is muki bezer,

who is part of the group that planned the operation.

To add to the element of surprise,

the special-forces team assembles

a convoy of official-looking vehicles.

CBS showed, a couple of times,

idi amin coming with a Mercedes, with two land rover jeeps,

to visit the terminal, to visit the hostages.

And we sort of said, "why -- why wouldn't we do the same?"

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: One Mercedes and two land rovers.

We will all be dressed up as ugandans --

basically, staging the arrival of idi amin

or another dignitary as they did every night.

The plan is to get there and completely surprise them,

storm the terminal, take out the terrorists,

and release the hostages.

Narrator: The rest of the force,

another 200 top infantry and paratroopers

handpicked for the mission,

will arrive in the other three Hercules planes.

Shani: The other 3 will wait 7 minutes in holding pattern,

just South of them,

around the border of Kenya and Uganda,

just to make sure that we will keep

the maximum surprise, minimum noise.

Narrator: They will land in 7-minute intervals.

Their job -- secure the airport,

fight back any retaliation,

and provide backup for the rescue team.

The unit's senior operators are assembled.

Amir ofer is home,

just days before finishing his mandatory service with the unit.

Ofer: It was a very frightening phone call, I must admit.

I was told, "come immediately to your base."

All of us were very worried.

It was a very dangerous operation.

Narrator: Practice begins.

They need to be ready for every potential scenario.

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: Our planning seemed perfect,

with a high probability that throughout the journey,

the landing, and the raid on the terminal,

we will be able to maintain the surprise element.

Narrator: Israel's leaders and top military commanders

are invited to observe a dress rehearsal

on an improvised model of the terminal.

Peres: When you decide an operation,

you have to take a risk.

The question is, "is it a reasonable risk?"

I wouldn't do it to commit suicide.

And when I saw the boys,

I saw their preparation,

my self-assurance go up.

Narrator: At the end of the rehearsal,

the chief of staff wants to know

what are their chances of succeeding.

Interpreter: He collected all the commanders together

after the rehearsal.

He asked each of us to say

if we believe in the plan or not.

All of us said that, 70% to 80%, it would fail...

But we decided to go.

When you have the type of well-trained personnel --

and some of their ground forces

are exceptionally well-trained --

you know, you do what you have to do

in order to, you know, to accomplish the mission.

Narrator: The hijackers' new deadline is approaching fast.

Peres, the minister of defense,

needs to convince prime minister yitzhak rabin

to green-light the risky operation.

Eiran: He struggled with that decision

for a day and a night.

He told me that he hardly slept.

Narrator: Five days into the crisis,

on Friday, encouraged by the latest developments,

rabin, who is a former general, is persuaded.

He accompanied me to the elevators and said to me,

"amos, if the military operation will fail --

"and the chances are 50/50 --

I will resign the following day."

Narrator: With time running out,

200 of Israel's top fighters

will be ready to take off to Africa

before given the green light.

The final go or no-go for the mission,

now code-named operation thunderbolt,

will have to be given while they are in the air.

Narrator: A secret mission to rescue 100 hostages

held by international terrorists for almost a week

is launched.

An elite Israeli special-forces team

is on its way to the heart of Africa.

We took off to the mission

without the final approval of the government.

Narrator: The assault teams have less than 24 hours to prepare

before changing to ugandan uniforms,

their operational disguise.

Their plan is to pass themselves off as

idi amin's official motorcade.

Ofer: I was totally sure that

no one will approve the operation.

It will be canceled within a few hours.

It was too risky, too far.

Uh...

It was a crazy operation.

Narrator: The troops are getting quick, last-minute orders.

Yoni netanyahu, which is our -- was our commander,

explained that we have a very short time

to prepare the operation.

Therefore, we will not discuss any activities of other forces.

He just told each one of us

what's the specific role of each squad.

Narrator: Meanwhile, in Jerusalem,

an emergency cabinet meeting is called.

Unless all ministers approve the plan,

the troops will be called back.

The Hercules planes have been in the air for nearly two hours

when a message arrives.

Operation thunderbolt is a go.

Zinke: Given the consequence

of both failure and success for the state of Israel,

I think it was a very, very tough call,

but it was one they had to make.

Narrator: In entebbe,

for the hostages, the situation seems hopeless.

We couldn't even for 1%

think that Israeli are coming to save us.

There's no way.

We didn't know what's going on in Israel.

Nobody was talking to us.

Narrator: The deadline for executions to begin approaches.

Ben dor: Every few hours,

they say that they are going to execute us --

each and every one of us.

I remember that my thought was,

"I would like to be one of the first,"

because I couldn't think of seeing the others being killed.

It was despairing, not giving any hope.

Narrator: The four Hercules planes head north, then turn South,

flying over the red sea and then to Africa.

In the cockpit, lead pilot Joshua shani

feels the burden of responsibility.

Shani: The fear was for failure --

real fear, big fear.

29 years old, it's all on my shoulders.

And if I screw it up, this is a national disaster.

Narrator: The journey is some 2,200 Miles long,

and it involves crossing hostile airspace.

If detected, they will be shot down.

Shani: We kept radio silence, because we didn't want

anybody from the enemy countries next to us to listen.

Narrator: To avoid getting detected,

they fly as low as only 100 feet above sea.

Some of the troops use the time to prepare.

Ofer: I loaded my ak-47, and I opened the safety pin.

And my friend who was sitting beside me shouted at me,

"you are not supposed to open your safety pin

to load the weapon within the plane!"

I told him, "shut up. This is a real war."

Others, like matan vilnai,

the operation's deputy commander,

and yoni netanyahu, the unit's commander,

managed to catch a few minutes of sleep.

Interpreter: Both of us occupied this bay

with full gear and weapons.

We tried to sleep. It's a long flight.

Shani: We, like, found very difficult to understand

how a guy that's going to storm,

and his chances to get killed are 50%,

can sleep like a baby,

and he did sleep like a baby.

Narrator: Just as they get to the border of Kenya and Uganda,

the pilots break formation and separate.

Shani, carrying the attack force,

continues directly toward entebbe,

while the others reach the airport

from another direction.

The aim is to time their arrival

to maximize the potential surprise.

Magness: Very dangerous.

You know, flying into an airfield

that enemy forces are controlling,

with aircraft that are essentially unarmed.

You know, they didn't have cover,

didn't have gunships covering them

to be able to come in, land.

When we had to pick out the time of landing,

we knew it should be the middle of the night sometime.

Narrator: As the plane approaches entebbe,

the control tower, anticipating another arriving flight,

asks the plane to identify itself.

Shani's answer could seal the fate of the mission.

Interpreter: In broken English, they start asking questions,

and our captain -- he gave the right answer.

Narrator: Shani manages to pass as another incoming flight

without raising suspicion,

and his plane lands at 11:01 P.M. Uganda time,

right on schedule.

The rest of the force, 200 troops,

should arrive within the next 15 minutes.

But until then,

the unit's operators are on their own.

Ofer: The intelligence that we got

was that there are between 200 and 1,000 soldiers

in this specific air base.

And we were supposed to be alone for about 7 to 10 minutes.

Narrator: Everything goes according to the plan.

I taxi all the way, almost to the old terminal --

the terminal where the hostages were held.

Narrator: While the plane is still taxiing,

the assault force gets into the official-looking vehicles

to pose as amin's motorcade.

The next moments are critical.

They have to get right up to the terminal

without being detected.

[ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: We jumped out with the Mercedes.

The air was fresh right after the rain.

We're driving slowly,

adjusting our speed to our surroundings.

Narrator: In the Mercedes are bezer and netanyahu,

the commanders of the assault.

Behind, the rest of the force in land rovers,

pretending to be an official escort.

Ofer: I remember these two feelings.

One is a feeling of terrible loneliness.

And the second is that I saw 29 shadows --

shadows of people, of soldiers

holding their weapons in the darkness,

and I thought to myself,

"how many of these will stay alive in 5 minutes?"

Narrator: The success of the entire operation

depends on maintaining the surprise.

They hope that the ugandan troops at the airport

will not suspect the official-looking convoy

and allow it to get to the terminal.

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: We look straight ahead,

and we see two ugandan soldiers standing there,

a little bored.

Narrator: The troops have only seconds to react.

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: The guy yells, "advance!"

I tell yoni, "forget it. It's routine."

But he hesitates for a second and then says, "take them out."

[ Silenced gunshots ]

[ Machine-gun fire ]

Ofer: There was a burst of non-silenced fire.

And at this moment, it was obvious

that the element of surprise -- gone.

[ Gunfire continues ]

Interpreter: I thought, "this is when the slaughter begins."

Narrator: Their cover is blown,

and they are still almost 700 feet away from their target.

The hijackers could start executing hostages immediately.

The entire mission hangs in the balance.

Narrator: A secret, high-risk Israeli commando raid

into entebbe airport in Uganda

is on the brink of disaster.

The troops are forced to open fire

before reaching their target.

The operation is no longer a secret.

They are exposed and outnumbered.

The lives of 100 hostages and 200 troops

are on the line.

Bezer: [ Speaking Hebrew ]

Interpreter: We jumped off and started running.

And as we are running,

a ugandan soldier opens fire right above us,

and I shoot a round at him, hitting him in the chest,

and he drops.

Any ugandan soldier we see is shot.

There was massive shooting.

Narrator: Inside the terminal, the hostages are terrified.

They don't know who is shooting and why.

I thought, "the terrorists will shoot,

"the ugandan soldiers will shoot,

and we will be dead in a few minutes."

[ Machine-gun fire in distance ]

Davidson: There was shooting --

terrible shooting -- all around,

noises, shouting, lights, everything.

We were sure that that's the end. It comes now.

Narrator: Everything depends on how quickly the assault force

can get to the hostages.

It was critical to enter as fast as possible.

[ Gunfire in distance ]

Narrator: Amir ofer is the first inside the terminal.

Ofer: I couldn't see my commander,

and I was sure that he already ran

and he disappeared in the darkness,

and I must run as fast as I can

in order to catch up with him and to cover his back.

Narrator: He is on his own, with no cover.

Someone was shooting in the terminal,

about 5 meters inside it,

and he was holding an ak-47

and he was shooting at me directly.

You know, I could see his hands like this,

because he was shooting a huge burst of fire.

Narrator: His special-forces training kicks into action.

And the bullets were one here and one there,

and I simply didn't care.

I just shot him accurately, three or four bullets,

and you know --

ta-ta-ta -- and that's it.

Narrator: The rest of his team catch up.

As they move through the terminal,

they see two men dressed as civilians.

They don't realize they are terrorists

until one soldier notices a spark.

He shouted, "they have a grenade,"

and they shoot them, and...

Narrator: The assault team is now together.

They continue to sweep the terminal.

Ofer: There were two other terrorists.

They turned their rifle to shoot me in the back.

Move!

[ Chuckles ]

Within 5 seconds, I was supposed to die twice.

Narrator: Next, the troops advance into the passengers' hole.

We were scanning the whole room with our eyes,

looking for more terrorists.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

Narrator: The hostages have no idea who these soldiers are.

Ben dor: It was very frightening moments.

It looks like hours.

And we -- we didn't understand what is going on.

Ofer: In my left hand, I put the loudspeaker.

My right hand was still on the trigger.

And I said, "everybody lie down."

They were totally sure

that they're now going to be executed.

Narrator: In the confusion,

one passenger, Jean-Jacques maimoni,

excited to be rescued, leaps to his feet.

He jumped against my explicit instruction to lie down,

and he was mistakenly considered to be a terrorist

who is jumping in order to run and activate a bomb or whatever,

and he was shot.

Narrator: Maimoni is one of three hostages

killed in the crossfire.

The hostages start to realize what is happening.

They started to raise a little bit their heads

and just, you know, to look from the bottom,

from the floor, to look up.

And, suddenly, they identified or they understood

that they're not going to be killed,

that someone came to rescue them.

And...It's an amazing moment.

It's like if there was an angel coming out of the sky.

It was such a surprise.

[ Machine-gun fire ]

Narrator: By now, the rest of the Israeli force has landed

and is battling the ugandan army outside.

The Hercules pilots are waiting in the dark.

There was shooting all over the place -- tracers --

and I couldn't tell if they are aiming to us or not.

One bullet in the right place, the airplane is grounded.

You cannot take off.

Narrator: Inside the terminal,

the assault force needs to report to yoni netanyahu,

the unit's commander,

that the team has eliminated the hijackers' threat.

Interpreter: I call yoni on the radio,

and I say, "mission completed."

"Yoni," I say, "completed, just like in the rehearsal!"

Nothing.

The unit's communications officer picks up.

He's yelling, "yoni is hurt, yoni is hurt!"

Narrator: Yoni netanyahu, the unit's commander,

has been critically injured.

There's no time to digest the news.

They are still not out of danger.

Ben dor: The soldiers told us to go out,

to follow the lights outside,

to the Hercules,

and we started to run.

Narrator: The hostages and the troops

are still at least 8 hours away from home

in a hostile country.

My issue was, at that time,

to make sure that we can get the hell out of there.

Narrator: The evacuation must begin.

We have to count the soldiers a million times,

just to make sure we are not leaving anyone behind.

It was so critical.

And when we filled,

everybody that was ready took off.

Narrator: The Israeli force needs to make sure

they can't be pursued by the ugandan army.

A demolition team moves to destroy

Uganda's entire fleet of mig fighter planes.

On the way home, the troops learn

that the unit's commander, yoni netanyahu, has died.

Interpreter: I went out to the back of one of the aircraft...

...and I saw yoni lying there.

He was covered with an aluminum blanket.

And I looked at it, and I think about yoni.

In military operations, the price is always human life.

Narrator: 2,000 Miles away,

the government in Jerusalem is waiting for an update.

Peres: I was at my office.

It was, I think, 12:00 at night.

That was the first time that the silence was broken.

And we got the code.

It says that one of our commanders fall.

Somehow my heart told me it's yoni,

whom I love very much.

Narrator: While the Hercules planes are still in the air,

news of the secret has leaked out.

Shani: We turn on the long-range radio,

and I put it on the loudspeakers so the special forces will hear.

It started with a French television station.

It said, "Israeli commando just did this operation."

Narrator: After another 7 hours in the air,

and a week after the hijacking,

the four planes carrying

the troops, the hostages, and the dead

are finally back home in Israel.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Davidson: Everybody -- all of our friends --

all of them were there.

[ Conversations continue ]

Ben dor: It was unbelievable.

I thought that the whole country is waiting for us

in the airport.

Lots and lots and lots of people.

Narrator: The pilots can finally relax.

When you have this kind of responsibility, you function.

Adrenaline is so high you just function,

and you don't know how.

I totally collapsed when I got home.

But matkal, the secret black-ops unit,

cannot take part in the celebrations.

For many years to come,

its missions and the operators who carried them out

will remain in the shadows.

Ofer: We were isolated and taken aside

because it was top secret at the time.

I think that there was one moment, later on,

that I understood that we did something,

I would say, extraordinary.

They know this is a secret mission.

They felt that only they can do it

and that they have to do it

and that they have to take the risk.

It was not God that worked overtime,

it was just we did a good job like we were expected to do.

Narrator: The daring raid

and the courage of the troops who carried it out

will be studied by forces all around the world

and serve as a model

for what special-ops teams could achieve.

The Israeli overwhelming retaliation

is an early international victory

in the war on terrorism.

[ Machine-gun fire ]