Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has highlighted Uganda’s decision to erect a memorial to his late brother, Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, at the Old Entebbe Airport terminal where the Israeli commander was killed during the 1976 hostage rescue operation.
Speaking during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Netanyahu recalled the Entebbe raid as an example of Israel’s determination to confront threats against its citizens.
“My brother, the commander of the storming party, was the only soldier killed in this mission. I want to thank Uganda again for recently erecting a statue of Yoni in the place where he fell,” Netanyahu said.
The memorial was unveiled last month at the historic terminal by Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, in a ceremony that Ugandan officials presented as a symbol of renewed relations between Uganda and Israel.
Kainerugaba said the monument represented the two countries’ security partnership, mutual trust and diplomatic reconciliation.
“Monuments are much more than stone and bronze. They preserve memory, teach history and inspire future generations,” he said at the ceremony.
Yoni Netanyahu commanded the Israeli commando unit that stormed the terminal on July 4, 1976, during an operation to rescue more than 100 passengers held hostage after an Air France flight was hijacked by Palestinian and German militants and diverted to Entebbe.
The Israeli commandos travelled more than 2,500 miles to reach Uganda and launched the assault on the terminal. Yoni Netanyahu was killed during the operation.
The raid remains one of the most significant military operations in Israel’s history and has continued to shape discussions about Uganda-Israel relations.
During the memorial ceremony, Kainerugaba also paid tribute to Ugandan soldiers who died during the confrontation.
He described the 1976 events as having taken place during “one of the darkest periods” in Uganda’s history under former President Idi Amin, while stressing that present-day Uganda is a constitutional democracy committed to peaceful relations and international cooperation.
Netanyahu’s remarks at the UN have now brought renewed international attention to the memorial at Entebbe, nearly 50 years after the operation that claimed his brother’s life.