Shai Gross, a former hostage of the 1976 Entebbe hijacking, said in an interview with Idotauber that his parents had already begun saying the Shema Yisrael prayer when an Israeli Sayeret Matkal soldier appeared and aimed at them; his father shouted they were Israeli, saving them at the last moment.
Fifty years after the Operation Thunderbolt (Operation Yonatan) rescue at Entebbe, a firsthand account from one of the hostages adds a new layer to the story. Shai Gross, a former hostage in the 1976 Air France hijacking, described in a new interview with media personality Idotauber the final critical moments before the rescue. According to Gross, his parents had already said goodbye in tears and begun reciting the traditional Jewish deathbed prayer, the Shema Yisrael. Suddenly, his father heard gunfire and saw an Israeli Sayeret Matkal soldier aiming his weapon at them. His father shouted, identifying the family as Israeli, which caused the soldier to hold fire — a moment Gross credits as saving them 'at the last second'. The interview, part of 50th-anniversary coverage, offers a rare, intimate perspective on the raid, which freed over 100 hostages and is considered a landmark counter-terrorism operation. As The Zioneer has previously reported, other elements of the operation's history continue to be explored, including the role of lesser-known participants like hostage Michel Cojot. The full interview is available on Idotauber's platform.
The 1976 Entebbe raid remains one of the most celebrated special forces operations in Israeli history, with Sayeret Matkal units infiltrating the airport terminal to rescue hostages held by Palestinian and German hijackers.
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