On the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, the Israel State Archive released thousands of documents, protocols, and handwritten notes, revealing the cabinet's internal drama during the hostage crisis. According to the archive release, the material shows efforts to shift responsibility to France to prevent the separation of Israeli hostages and the intelligence race to gather information on Uganda.
The Israel State Archive released a massive, previously unseen collection of documents marking exactly 50 years since Operation Entebbe (1976). The trove includes thousands of secret protocols, handwritten notes, and internal government correspondence. According to the archive, the documents detail how Israeli leaders debated the hostage crisis in real time: attempts to blame France for the hijacking to keep all hostages together, and an intelligence race to gather critical data on Uganda before the raid. The release provides the most granular look yet at the cabinet's decision-making process leading up to the IDF rescue mission at Entebbe Airport.
As The Zioneer reported earlier this week, earlier archival releases had revealed the cabinet's shift from diplomatic efforts to approving the military rescue. This latest trove adds depth and newly declassified material on the earliest hours of the crisis. The documents do not contradict the well-known account of the operation's success but offer new granular detail on the political and intelligence maneuvering. The authenticity of the documents is established by the State Archive's publication; the significance for historical understanding is that much of this material was previously held back or unknown to the public.
3 developments
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Source and signal
- Internal intake