Uganda’s military unveiled a bronze-style memorial statue honoring Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, the older brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nearly 50 years after the historic hostage rescue operation. The monument was revealed on August 1 at the old airport terminal in Entebbe where the elite commander lost his life.
Uganda Unveils Entebbe Statue for Yonatan Netanyahu
The unveiling ceremony was presided over by Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who serves as the eldest child and presumed heir apparent to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Gen. Kainerugaba stated that he commissioned the tribute to recognize the fallen soldier’s legacy. Attendees at the event included Israeli citizens such as Uganda-based businessman Barak Orland.
The newly erected statue depicts Yonatan Netanyahu holding an assault rifle, striding forward outside the airport terminal. Gen. Kainerugaba praised the commander’s leadership during the 1976 hostage rescue operation, describing him as a symbol of courage, duty, and selfless service.
Context of the 1976 Entebbe Raid
The monument recalls the events of June and July 1976, when an Air France flight traveling from Tel Aviv to Paris with 246 passengers aboard was hijacked after a stop in Athens. The hijackers consisted of two Palestinians and two Germans belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, joined later by three accomplices in Uganda.
The aircraft was diverted to Uganda after refueling in Libya, receiving a safe haven from the regime of dictator Idi Amin, who supported the Palestinian independence cause and had previously severed diplomatic ties with Israel. Once landed, the hijackers separated Jewish and Israeli passengers from the rest, releasing the majority of the other hostages over a two-day period. The captors demanded $5 million alongside the release of 53 militants jailed in Israel, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Kenya.
Following a week of negotiations and planning, Israel launched a rescue mission on July 3, 1976. Four Israeli C-130 Hercules transport aircraft flew thousands of miles, landing elite commandos at Entebbe Airport. The resulting firefight lasted less than an hour, successfully rescuing more than 100 hostages.
Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu was the only Israeli commando killed during the mission, struck by a bullet as he led the rescue force. Three hostages—Jean-Jacques Maimoni, Pasco Cohen, and Ida Borochovitch—were killed in the crossfire, while a fourth hostage, Dora Bloch, was later murdered in a Kampala hospital while receiving treatment. The hijackers and their accomplices were killed, alongside at least 45 Ugandan soldiers.
Shifting Diplomatic Ties and Memorial Legacy
The statue’s installation marks a sharp turnaround in how the historic raid is officially acknowledged in Uganda. In 1976, Israel’s successful operation deeply enraged and humiliated Idi Amin, and the Organization of African Unity—the predecessor to the African Union—criticized the raid as a violation of Ugandan sovereignty.
During the August ceremony, Gen. Kainerugaba addressed the role played by the former regime, noting that the soldiers who died had fought valiantly in what they believed was a justified cause, but acknowledging that the government of Idi Amin was a brutal dictatorship that did not represent the Ugandan people. Kainerugaba characterized current relations between Uganda and Israel as a remarkable journey marked by mutual trust, respect, and cooperation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously visited Entebbe a decade prior, and has stated that his brother’s death in the raid permanently changed the course of his life.