Entebbe: Diary of a Hostage by Yehuda Gottlieb

"Written in captivity, this remarkable diary reveals the fear, resilience, and humanity of the hostages—culminating in the moment Israeli soldiers burst into the terminal, calling out in Hebrew, 'We've come to take you home.'"
Gadi Ilan, participant in the Entebbe rescue operation

What was it like to wait for rescue, not knowing whether freedom or death would come first?

On June 27, 1976, Air France Flight 139 was hijacked by terrorists and diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. For eight terrifying days, more than one hundred hostages were held captive under armed guard while the world watched and negotiations unfolded. Among them was Yehuda Gottlieb, who secretly documented his experience in a diary as the events were happening.

Unlike memoirs written years later, this extraordinary account captures the uncertainty, fear, and resilience of captivity in real time. Gottlieb records the overcrowded conditions, the emotional toll of waiting, the role of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, and the remarkable ways in which ordinary people supported one another while facing the possibility of death.

Nearly fifty years later, his daughter, Ester Smith, translated and prepared this unique historical document for publication, preserving one of the few firsthand diaries written by a hostage during the Entebbe crisis.

More than the story of a legendary rescue mission, this is the deeply human story of the people who waited for it. Through Yehuda Gottlieb's words, readers experience the courage, uncertainty, and hope that defined one of the most extraordinary hostage rescues in modern history.

A powerful contribution to the history of Operation Entebbe, this remarkable diary offers an intimate perspective on survival, faith, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Translated & Supplemented by Ester Gottlieb Smith