Uganda unveils monument honoring Yonatan Netanyahu

Uganda has unveiled a bronze statue in Entebbe to honor Yonatan ‘Yoni’ Netanyahu, the late brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The monument commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1976 ‘Raid on Entebbe,’ also known as Operation Thunderbolt.

During the mission, Israeli commandos rescued 102 of 106 hostages from a hijacked Air France flight that had been diverted to Entebbe Airport during the regime of Idi Amin. Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, who led the operation, was the sole Israeli military fatality of the mission.

The statue was unveiled on August 1 at the Old Entebbe Terminal in a ceremony attended by senior Ugandan military officials. According to The Kampala Post, the event serves as a symbol of the ‘enduring security partnership, mutual trust, and diplomatic reconciliation between Uganda and Israel.’