February is Black History Month and this year marks the 400th anniversary that blacks were brought to Bermuda as indentured servants. Throughout this month, The Royal Gazette will feature people, events, places and institutions that have contributed to the shaping of African history.The city of Entebbe, Uganda, is located on the shores of Lake Victoria about 22 miles south of Kampala, the nation’s capital. In addition to being the official residence of the President of Uganda, Entebbe is the site of the nation’s only international airport.On June 28, 1976 Air France Flight 139, en route from Tel Aviv to Paris, was hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two German accomplices shortly after a scheduled stop in Athens, Greece. After the hijacking, the Airbus A300 jet was flown to Benghazi, Libya, for refuelling and then on to Entebbe, where they expected a supportive reception from the pro-Palestinian Ugandan Government headed by dictator Idi Amin. After landing at Entebbe, the 103 passengers on board who carried Israeli passports, or were Jewish, were detained while the rest of the passengers were eventually released. Additionally, more terrorists joined the hijackers on the ground in Uganda, reinforced by members of the Ugandan military. At just after 11pm local time on July 3, Israeli commandos landed at Entebbe airport to begin a carefully planned rescue attempt. Planning, preparation and execution of the raid were made easier because the new buildings at the airport had been designed and built by Israelis, and thus the commandos were able to familiarise themselves with the layout. Using four C-130 Hercules aircraft, the Israeli military secured the airport perimeter and entered the terminal building where the hostages were being held. The commandos were successful in extracting all but three of the prisoners being held in the terminal. All of the hijackers were killed, along with 45 Ugandan soldiers. Most of the Ugandan Air Force was destroyed on the tarmac at the Entebbe airport during the raid. The only casualty suffered by the commandos was the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Yoni Netanyahu, older brother of Benjamin, the future Israeli prime minister. One hostage, 75-year-old Dora Bloch, had been taken to a hospital in Kampala and had to be left behind. She was later taken from her hospital bed and murdered. After the raid, the Israeli aircraft refuelled in Nairobi, Kenya, where a medical plane also awaited those in need of attention. Because of their co-operation with the Israelis in this incident, the Kenyan Government was condemned by the Organisation of African Unity.• Sources: Henry Kyemba, A State of Blood: The Inside Story of Idi Amin (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1977); M. Louise Pirouet, Historical Dictionary of Uganda (Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press; http://operationentebbe.com