Uganda has unveiled a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu, the older brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was killed during the 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue operation.
The monument was unveiled ahead of the 50th anniversary of the raid and stands outside the old terminal at Entebbe International Airport, where Israeli commandos rescued more than 100 hostages.
Uganda’s military chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said the statue honoured Netanyahu’s courage, leadership and selfless service. The monument depicts him advancing while carrying a machine gun.
Yonatan Netanyahu commanded the Israeli force during the operation and was the only Israeli soldier killed in the raid.
The hostage crisis began after two Palestinian and two German militants hijacked an Air France flight travelling from Tel Aviv to Paris on June 27, 1976. The hijackers boarded during a stop in Athens and diverted the aircraft first to Libya and then to Uganda, where it was welcomed by the government of then-President Idi Amin.
The hijackers demanded $5 million and the release of 53 militants imprisoned in Israel and several European and African countries. A number of passengers were later freed, but Israeli and Jewish hostages were kept at Entebbe airport.
On July 3, Israeli commandos flew to Uganda through Kenya and launched a rescue operation that lasted less than 90 minutes.
More than 100 hostages were freed. Three hostages — Jean-Jacques Mimouni, Pasco Cohen and Ida Borochovitch — were killed during the operation, while Dora Bloch was later murdered at a hospital in Kampala.
The hijackers and several accomplices were also killed, along with at least 45 Ugandan soldiers during fighting with the Israeli forces.
Kainerugaba acknowledged the Ugandan soldiers who died, saying they had fought for what they believed was a justified cause, while noting that Amin’s government was a brutal dictatorship that did not represent the Ugandan people.
He described the raid as one of the most significant events in modern history and called it a painful chapter in Uganda’s past.
However, he said relations between Uganda and Israel had since developed into a partnership based on mutual trust, respect and cooperation.
Benjamin Netanyahu visited Entebbe in 2016 to mark the 40th anniversary of the operation. During the visit, he said his brother had taught him that defeating terrorism required both clarity and courage.
The Entebbe operation remains widely celebrated in Israel, but it was seen as a major humiliation for Amin’s government.