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Yitzhak Navon, chairman of the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee. Rabin briefed the president and Golda Meir, while Peres woke up his wife, Sonia. The fantastic news spread throughout the world, and messages of amazement and admiration poured in from all over.
    But then, in the wee hours all this joy was painfully interrupted. Gur came to the defense minister’s office. Shimon Peres was lying on his narrow couch, trying to get some sleep.
    â€œShimon, Yoni is dead,” Gur said. “He was hit by a bullet in the back. Apparently he was shot from the old control tower. The bullet pierced his heart.”
    Peres, devastated, burst into tears.
    T he following day, the Fourth of July, 1976 (the two-hundredth anniversary of the United States), the rescue planes landed in Israel and were received by a festive, flag-waving crowd. The operation became legendary in Israel and in the outside world. Flowery articles, books, TV shows and movies hailed the glory of the IDF soldiers. Foreign nations regarded the operation as a symbol of courage, dedication and impressive military capability.
    All the terrorists who had participated in the hijacking and the imprisonmentin Entebbe had been killed, with the exception of Wadie Haddad, head of the Popular Front, who had left Entebbe before the IDF raid. Knowing he was now in the crosshairs of the Israelis, he found refuge in Baghdad, hoping he would be protected there. It took nearly two years for the Mossad to reach him. Israeli agents discovered Haddad’s weakness: he adored fine Belgian chocolate. The Mossad laced a box of mouth-watering Godivas with an untraceable poison and recruited one of Haddad’s trusted lieutenants, who brought him the deadly box. Haddad gobbled down the chocolates, all by himself. A few weeks later, the ailing arch-terrorist was urgently flown, in critical condition, to an East German clinic, where he died in March 1978.
    That same year, Idi Amin’s regime collapsed following a war he instigated against neighboring Tanzania. Amin escaped to Libya and later to Saudi Arabia, where he lived until his death in 2003.
    T he IDF mission in Entebbe had been an astounding success. And yet, Yoni Netanyahu’s death left a dark shadow over the popular rejoicing. The IDF changed the name of Operation Thunderball to Operation Yonatan. Peres eulogized Yoni at his funeral:
    â€œWhat burdens didn’t we load on Yoni and his comrades’ shoulders? The most dangerous of the IDF’s tasks and the most daring of its operations; the missions that were the farthest from home and the closest to the enemy; the darkness of night and the solitude of the fighter; the taking of risks, over and over again, in times of peace and in times of war. There are times when the nation’s fate depends on a handful of volunteers. . . . Yonatan was a commander of valor. He overcame his enemies by his courage. He conquered his friends’ hearts by the wisdom of his heart. He didn’t fear danger and victories didn’t make him vain. By falling he caused an entire nation to raise her head high.”
    Shimon Peres quoted King David’s biblical verses mourning his friend Jonathan: “I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant hast thou been unto me; thy love to me was wonderful” (2 Samuel 1:26).
    Â Â Â  SHIMON PERES, LATER ISRAEL’S NINTH PRESIDENT
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “From the first moment I was determined not to yield to the terrorists. We had to find a way to liberate the hostages. I had the support of a fine group of generals—Shomron, Adam, Peled, Gazit and their close colleagues. At the beginning our plans were vague. We perfected and honed the project hour by hour. But I felt I was completely alone in that matter.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “The prime minister was ready to exchange the jailed terrorists for the hostages. Most of the