The dramatic operation in the early hours of Saturday morning came after Israeli officials appealed for US intervention in a series of frantic telephone calls made as thousands of angry protesters laid siege to the mission.
Baying their hatred of Israel, the mob broke through the building's defences, smashing down a perimeter wall with sledgehammers before marauding through the consular section of the embassy, destroying papers and smashing windows.
The unprecedented attack, which follows days of protests, prompted the swift evacuation of all but one of the embassy's staff. The deputy ambassador volunteered to remain behind as Israel's sole diplomat in Egypt.
There was measured relief, however, that the crisis did not unfold in the manner that some in the Israeli government feared. One Israeli official admitted that there had been grave concerns of a reprise of the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979, when a mob burst into the US embassy in Tehran in the aftermath of the country's revolution against the Shah and held 52 American diplomats captive for 444 days.
As the crisis unfolded on Friday evening, most of the embassy's staff were at home, partly because they had been ordered to keep a low profile after previous protests outside the mission and also because of unrest in the city that day.
The six security guards were responsible for protecting the building. As the mob advanced, they were forced to abandon the consular wing of the embassy and retreat to its secure section. Mr Netanyahu rang the men three times as the assault continued, urging them to stand firm and promising that help was on its way.
Meanwhile,
...back at the scene of the crime, Lieutenant Queeg had an idea: there was a simple way to tell whether Manetti had been the triggerman -- just look at his shoes!...
as the rest of Israel sat down to Sabbath dinners, his government went into emergency mode. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, placed urgent calls to Leon Panetta
...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993....
, his US counterpart, and to Dennis Ross, President Barack
B.O.Obama's closest Middle East adviser.
Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Gray Eminence...
, the US secretary of state, then rang Mohammed Kamel Amr, the Egyptian foreign minister, to demand that his military superiors met their obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect diplomatic property and personnel.
The resulting rescue mission came just in time. One security guard had reportedly been beaten up, while the others were taking shelter behind the last locked door that stood between them and the mob.
Mr Netanyahu praised Egypt for rescuing the men. "The mob attack on the Israeli embassy is a serious incident, but could have been worse had the rioters managed to get through the last door and hurt our people," he said. "The fact that the Egyptian authorities acted with determination and rescued our people should be noted."
But for Mr Netanyahu and his government, many questions remain unanswered, ones that could exacerbate an already grave crisis. Most pertinent is how the mob was able to break into the embassy unchallenged in the first place.
For much of the day, Cairo had been stirred by unrest after protests in Tahrir Square, called to demand an end to military trials of civilians, who have been tossed in the calaboose in their hundreds for taking part in demonstrations or criticising army chiefs.
Similar protests in recent months have usually been peaceful, but Friday's demonstrations involved a large group of hardcore football fans known as ultras, who had taken to the streets in anger over a brawl with the police after a match earlier in the week.
These fans, rather than Islamists, are thought to have been behind the violence, leading the initial charge to demolish the wall the authorities had built around the embassy after protests against Israel erupted last month.
But as they attached ropes to cars to pull away sections of the wall, the security forces merely stood by. "I got to the embassy at about 8 o'clock yesterday evening by which time the protesters had already broken down the wall outside," said Nora Chalaby, an Egyptian activist. "It was completely destroyed. I saw people climbing on the remains of it and smashing it with hammers. Only the army were there at that time -- no police -- and they just sat outside without getting involved."
Riot police later arrived and engaged protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets. At least three people were reportedly killed.
Egypt's interim government raised tensions in Cairo by announcing that it would use the emergency laws against which many of the demonstrators have been protesting to deal with those involved in the embassy incident.
"Egypt witnessed a harsh day that inflicted pain and worry on all Egyptians," said the country's information minister, Osama Hassan Heikal. "It is clear that the behaviour of some threatens the Egyptian revolution."
Egypt would transfer those in jug or "involved in inciting or participating in (Friday's) events to the emergency state security court," she added.
The army's initial inaction could have been the result of the security forces being overwhelmed or because of a reluctance to use live ammunition against protesters. Soldiers similarly stood by during the protests that unseated Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
, the ousted president, in February.
But there was also speculation in both Israel and Egypt that the military authorities had allowed the violence to go ahead unchecked, initially at least, in order to justify a powerful political role for the army when the transition to civilian role is completed at the end of the year.
The future of the army, which has dominated Egypt since Gamel Abdel Nasser came to power in a coup in 1956 and enjoys many financial privileges, is in doubt as a result of a liberal campaign to minimise military influence in politics.
Perhaps seeking to assuage Israeli anger, Essam Sharaf, Egypt's interim civilian prime minister, offered the ruling military council his resignation, but was refused. He also declared a state of alert.
For all the acrimony likely to ensue, neither Israel nor Egypt's military leaders want a total collapse in relations. The Camp David accords of 1978, which resulted in Israel's first ever peace treaty with an Arab state, has served both countries well.
Egypt regained the Sinai peninsula, which it lost in the Six Day War of 1967, as well as nearly £1 billion a year in military aid from the US, while Israel achieved peace with the Arab world's most populous state and a more secure southern frontier.
But the peace deal has always unpopular with a significant section of Egyptian society, angered by the perceived injustice of Israel's occupation of Paleostinian land and the view that Israel remains an interloper on Arab soil.
Late on Saturday large crowds were once again gathering outside the Israeli embassy building in Cairo, and also outside the general prosecutor's office where the detainees were believed to be held.