PHOTOS: Israeli Tourists Got Emotional on Tour of Entebbe Airport

A group of tourists from Israel who arrived in Uganda for an excursion could not help the emotions as they were guided through a tour of Entebbe Airport which in 1976 was a scene of a hostage situation involving over 90 Israeli passengers.

At least 230 Israelis are in Uganda and Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) says they will be touring national parks, visiting; the Jewish community in Mbale, the source of the Nile and other cultural places across the country.

Stephen Asiimwe, the UTB chief executive told SoftPower News that the tourists got emotional on arrival at Entebbe airport.

Read More: Over 230 Israelis Arrive in Uganda on Tourism Excursion

Forty three years ago on 27 June 1976, an Air France aeroplane with 248 passengers on board, 94 of them Israelies, was hijacked by members of a Palestinian radical group and the plane was later re-routed to Entebbe Airport.

A week later, a military operation codenamed ‘Operation Thunderbolt’ was conducted by Israeli forces and the hostages were rescued. It is perhaps the memories of the events of 1976 that evoked the emotions on Wednesday afternoon.