Uganda unveils Entebbe memorial honoring Yonatan Netanyahu | Ukraine news

A new memorial at Entebbe’s old airport honors Yonatan Netanyahu and recalls the 1976 raid, raising questions about memory, reconciliation, and bilateral ties.

In Uganda, on the site of the old Entebbe Airport terminal, a monument was unveiled to Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu, commander of the Israeli Defense Forces’ elite unit Sayeret Matkal, who died during the hostage-rescue operation in July 1976.

The ceremony was led by General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, commander of the Ugandan armed forces. According to him, the memorial symbolizes memory, reconciliation, and the development of relations between Uganda and Israel.

The general noted that Ugandan soldiers who died during the operation were carrying out orders of the regime at the time, which, in his words, did not represent the Ugandan people.

– General Muhoozi Kainerugaba

Entebbe Operation Context and Yonatan Netanyahu’s Role

On June 27, 1976, fighters from the Palestinian Liberation Front and the German left-wing organization “Revolutionary Cells” hijacked an Air France flight traveling from Tel Aviv to Athens and Paris. With the agreement of the Ugandan president, the aircraft was diverted to Entebbe Airport, where the hostages were held and demands were made to release Palestinian prisoners.

In the night of July 4, Israeli special forces carried out the operation, having flown roughly four thousand kilometers and freeing 102 hostages in under an hour. During the operation, three hostages were killed; a fourth victim, Dora Bloch, was initially hospitalized due to asphyxia, and later died.

The only loss among Israeli servicemen was the commander of the assault team, Yonatan Netanyahu. The operation later received the name “Yonatan” in his honor and is regarded as one of the most famous hostage-rescue operations in modern history.

Yonatan Netanyahu, the elder brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was born in 1946, participated in the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and operations of Israeli special forces. He is buried at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

Such memorial objects emphasize the memory of the events and serve as a reminder of the shared historical ties between Uganda and Israel, as well as respect for those who gave their lives during challenging operations.