An Air France plane flying from Tel Aviv to Paris with 248 passengers and crew was hijacked by terrorists and rerouted to the Entebbe Airport in Uganda. After gathering intelligence by Mossad and military intelligence, an IDF General Staff Reconnaissance unit, paratroopers, Golani Brigade fighters, medical corps and engineering troop units stormed the terminal where the hostages were held. After a difficult battle the terrorists were eliminated and the hostages and dozens of Ugandan soldiers were freed. 

Operation Thunderbolt is considered one of the boldest rescue missions in history and became a global symbol of Israeli determination in the fight against terrorism. Three hostages and Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, commander of the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, were killed.