Uganda has unveiled a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu, the older brother of Israel's prime minister, who was killed during the Entebbe hostage rescue mission 50 years ago. The monument stands outside the old airport terminal where the operation took place.
Uganda's army chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, stated that the statue honors Netanyahu's courage and selfless service. He described the Entebbe raid as "one of the most significant episodes in modern history" and highlighted the close ties that have since developed between Uganda and Israel.
Netanyahu was the sole Israeli soldier killed during the operation on July 4, 1976. The raid successfully freed over 100 hostages who had been held after an Air France flight, en route from Tel Aviv, was hijacked by two Palestinians and two Germans. The aircraft was diverted to Uganda's Entebbe International Airport.
During the operation, three hostages—Jean-Jacques Mimouni, Pasco Cohen, and Ida Borochovitch—also died. Dora Bloch was later murdered in a Kampala hospital where she was receiving treatment. The hijackers and three accomplices who joined them in Uganda were killed, along with at least 45 Ugandan soldiers who engaged in fighting with the Israeli commandos. Kainerugaba acknowledged the deaths of the Ugandan soldiers, stating they "fought valiantly... in what they believed was a justified cause," but added that "today, we know that the government of Idi Amin... was a brutal dictatorship which did not represent the Ugandan people."
The plane, which departed from Tel Aviv on June 27, 1976, made a stop in Athens where the hijackers, affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, boarded. They seized control and forced the aircraft to divert to Libya for refueling before proceeding to Uganda, where it was welcomed by then-President Idi Amin.
The hijackers demanded a $5 million ransom and the release of 53 militants imprisoned in Israel, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Kenya in exchange for the hostages. Some hostages were released on June 30 and July 1, but the Israeli and Jewish passengers remained captive.
On July 3, elite Israeli commandos landed at Entebbe after flying from Israel via Kenya. The rescue operation concluded in less than 90 minutes. The mission was celebrated in Israel but represented a significant humiliation for Amin's regime.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Entebbe a decade ago, remarking that "you need two things to defeat the terrorists: clarity and courage." Kainerugaba referred to the events of half a century ago as "a painful chapter in our history," but emphasized that Uganda-Israel relations have evolved into a "partnership characterised by mutual trust, respect and co-operation."