Yitzhak Hofi was the director of the Mossad from 1974 to 1982. Before that he was a general in the Israeli Defense Forces in charge of the Northern Command. In July of 1976, Hofi lobbyed strongly for a rescue mission to be mounted to save the large number of Israeli passengers on a hijacked Air France airliner flown to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda^[1]. In order to facilitate the resulting Operation Entebbe, Hofi directed Mossad katsas to survey the airport, and used contacts in Kenyan intelligence to allow the refueling of Israeli planes in Nairobi on the return journey. Official seal of the Mossad (Hebrew: המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations) is an Israeli intelligence agency, often referred to as Mossad (in English: Institution). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces (army, air force and navy). ... Look up July in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ... Air France Boeing 747 Air France (Compagnie Nationale Air France) is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM. Before the take-over of KLM, it was essentially the national airline of France, employing 71,654 people (at January 2005). ... Entebbe International Airport is the main international airport of Uganda. ... Entebbe Airport, Uganda, scene of Operation Entebbe Operation Entebbe took place on the night of July 3 and early morning of July 4, 1976. ... A Katsa is a field intelligence officer of the Mossad who collects information and runs agents, similar to the case officer of the CIA. There are typically 30-40 katsas at a time, operating mainly in Europe and the Middle East. ... Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya. ...

Notes

1. ^ Thomas 149.

References

• Black, Ian. Morris, Benny. Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services. New York: Grove Press, 1991. ISBN 0802111599 322 p.
• Thomas Gordon. Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. ISBN 0312252846