The four terrorists thought that they were safe. They had successfully hijacked a flight from Tel AvivA major city in Israel, founded in 1909. to Paris; now they had landed at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, where they were welcomed by President AminIdi Amin was the president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He was a dictator. . With 106 passengers and air crew as hostages, and 100 Ugandan soldiers to protect them, they were sure that Israel's helpless government would bow to their demands.

But they were wrong. In an operation of astonishing resourcefulness and daring, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) flew 100 commandos 2,500 miles to attack the airport. In the course of 90 minutes they killed all the hijackers and 45 soldiers; 102 of the hostages were rescued unharmed. Just one Israeli soldier died - Yonatan Netanyahu, whose brother Benjamin is now Israel's president.

The Entebbe raid in 1976 cemented the IDF's reputation as a brilliant and ruthless organisation. As it prepares to hit back at HamasA militant Palestinian organisation, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. It is listed as a terrorist organisation in the UK., "What the world should expect now is a coldly furious, enormously violent military action," writes Eliot A Cohen in The Atlantic.

The IDF was created in 1948, following Israel's establishment as a state. Its first recruits were drawn from three militias, two of which - Irgun and Lehi - were guilty of terrorism. Critics argue that their culture of brutality lingers in the IDF, though Israel's former prime minister Yair Lapid has described it as a "strong, disciplined military with a clear chain of command that operates only by the law".

All Israeli citizens, apart from Arabs, have to do national serviceNon-optional military service during peacetime. from the age of 18; the IDF is the only army in the world which conscriptsSomeone who is called up to join the army without a choice. women. Some 300,000 reservists have been called up in the wake of the Hamas attacks.¹

Eliot A Cohen argues that the IDF has "a history of failure followed by exceptionally rapid recovery" - meaning that it is likely to reassert itself after being caught off guard by Hamas.

Its tank divisions became some of the world's best after a poor performance during the Suez CrisisThe crisis arose when Egypt's President Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, which was largely owned by British and French investors. Britain and France joined Israel in attacking Egypt, but had to withdraw under pressure from the US and Russia. in 1956 - when Israel nevertheless managed to capture the Sinai PeninsulaA desert region of Egypt between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. from Egypt. In the 1973 Yom Kippur WarThe Yom Kippur War was an armed conflict between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, including Egypt and Syria. It occurred on the holy day of Yom Kippur in 1973. it lost a huge number of aircraft after a surprise attack by Egypt and Syria, but went on to win, and afterwards built a hugely formidable air force.

Today, says Cohen, the IDF is an innovative, creative and skilled army. Its strength lies in conscription, which means that it has all the country's most gifted people working for it; advanced technology, for which Israel is famous; and the country's small size: "Soldiers are, after all, fighting quite literally to protect homes and family."

It is further helped by "a tradition of brutal self-scrutiny": when things go wrong, those in charge pay the price, from generals to prime ministers.

But, Cohen admits, it has a weakness: arrogance. And in Hamas it has an equally ruthless and disciplined enemy which has learned from the IDF. "As the saying goes, play chess against a chess master, and you get better at chess."

Yes: Life is a gift we have all been given and nobody has the right to take it from a fellow creature. For Israel to retaliate against Hamas with lethal force will only make the situation worse.

No: Sometimes we have to do all we can to protect ourselves and those who depend on us, and sadly that can mean killing people. The IDF would argue that killing Hamas fighters is the only way to prevent Hamas soldiers killing them.

Or... Killing a terrorist or convicted murderer is not morally wrong, but it is spiritually damaging to the individuals and society involved, which is one reason the death penalty is a mistake.