Current sectionIsrael NewsIsrael SecurityShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeFreed hostages are welcomed upon their arrival at Lod Airport on July 4, 1976. Credit: APFifty years later, newly declassified state archives reveal deliberations between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres over whether to launch a risky rescue mission deep inside Uganda or free imprisoned terrorists to save Israeli hostages. 'We aren't dealing with a group of amateurs!' Rabin warnedOfer Aderet12:33 PM • June 26 2026 IDTThe Israeli cabinet meeting convened on July 3, 1976, in Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's office in Tel Aviv was dramatic. The agenda contained a single item: whether to approve a military operation to rescue the hostages held aboard the hijacked Air France flight in Uganda.Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:Yitzhak RabinShimon PeresTerrorismFranceCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Israel-Iran Live UpdatesU.S.-IranTrump-NetanyahuGazaWest BankDemocratic PrimaryLeo MessiHaQuizHaaretz PodcastDeclassified Records Reveal How Israel Launched Its 'Boldest Operation Ever'Israeli FM to Propose Cabinet Recognize Armenian GenocideFrom the October Hate Rally to Congress: A Major Warning Sign Out of New YorkHope or Fear: How Will Netanyahu's Rivals Use Trump's Iran Deal?Israel-Lebanon Talks in Washington Extended to Fourth Day Amid DeadlockRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIAs the World Watched Gaza, Israeli Settlers Charged Ahead in the West Bank. A Clash Is ImminentWhere Does Andy Burnham Stand on Israel and Palestine?Trump's Iran Deal Castrates Netanyahu, but It's Still Catastrophic for IsraelReport: Netanyahu 'Likely' to Sabotage Iran Deal, U.S. Officials Tell TrumpThe IDF's Russian Roulette in Lebanon Continues – and No One Can Explain WhyShin Bet and IDF Planned to Warn Netanyahu Before Oct. 7. Mossad Head Refused