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carried the wounded and the bodies of the hostages killed in the crossfire into an aircraft. One woman was missing: an elderly Israeli, Dora Bloch, who had taken ill earlier and been transferred to a Kampala hospital. Soon she would be murdered by the Ugandans.
    Everything else proceeded according to plan, but at 11:50 P.M. the powerful antennae at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv intercepted a worrying message radioed from “Almond Grove,” the Sayeret of Yoni Netanyahu, to the unit’s medical officer in Entebbe. It was a laconic call for medics, mentioning “Two Ekaterina”—code for “two wounded.” But nothing was said about the identity of the wounded.
    The military vehicles and units drove back into the Rhinos. The soldiers of Lieutenant Omer Bar-Lev, son of a former chief of staff, blew up the eight MiG jets stationed at the airport to prevent them from chasing and attacking the much slower Rhinos on their way home.
    At 11:51 P.M. the radio message everyone in Tel Aviv was praying forfinally came—“Mount Carmel.” It meant the end of the evacuation. The operation was completed and all the planes had taken off.
    â€œThe heart jumps with joy,” Shimon Peres wrote jubilantly in his diary.
    After the planes took off from Entebbe, Peres instructed Borka Bar-Lev, Idi Amin’s former friend, to call Amin from Tel Aviv. Perhaps the Ugandan dictator had now returned from Mauritius, Peres thought. To Borka’s surprise, Amin himself picked up the phone. He had returned a bit earlier to Kampala.
    Borka spoke to him using a well-rehearsed scenario, one intended to create the impression that Amin had been secretly involved in the rescue; that might ignite a conflict between him and the terrorists he had so eagerly assisted. The phone conversation was recorded by the IDF.
    â€œI called to thank you, Mr. President, for what you did!”
    â€œYes,” Amin said, “I advise you to accept my friends’ demands.”
    Borka was taken aback. “I want to thank you for what you did for the hostages.”
    â€œYes, yes,” was Amin’s response. “You should negotiate with my friends and make the exchange with them. The hostages will be released, and so would the prisoners.”
    This dialogue continued for a few minutes, until Borka understood: Amin did not know that the hostages had been liberated! He was sitting in his palace, discussing the ultimatum and upcoming negotiations, completely ignorant of the fact that the Israelis had been to Entebbe, freed the hostages and taken off. None of his officers had dared to inform him that a few miles from his palace a firefight had taken place, the terrorists were dead and the Israeli hostages were on their way back home!
    â€œThank you, sir,” Borka mumbled and hung up, dismayed.
    All the aircraft landed safely in Nairobi. The IDF medical team treated the wounded as the Rhinos refueled. Shortly afterward, the planes took off and headed for Israel.
    Very few of the liberated hostages slept during the long journey. They were too excited by this extraordinary experience. When the IDFspokesman published a short communiqué about the mission, “IDF forces tonight rescued the hostages from Entebbe airport, including the Air France crew,” an unprecedented wave of enthusiasm and rejoicing swept the country.
    An elated outburst shook the IDF general staff when Motta Gur informed his officers of the mission’s success. He also made a speech, saying, “I cannot sum up the operation even in this early stage without stressing the drive and the influence on its execution that were centered in one man . . . who pressed on and pushed in every direction, both up and down, for the operation. And this is the defense minister, who deserves all the credit.”
    In the prime minister’s office, Rabin and Peres exchanged excited greetings with Knesset members Begin and Elimelech Rimalt and