Muhoozi Kainerugaba, commander of the Ugandan army and son of the country’s president, announced Thursday on X that a statue of Lt. Col. Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu will soon be erected at “the exact spot where he was killed at Entebbe Airport.”
According to Kainerugaba, the gesture is intended to “strengthen blood relations with Israel.” He added, “Yoni is the big brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. God bless Uganda and Israel.”
Yonatan Netanyahu was killed on the night of July 3-4, 1976, during Operation Entebbe, later named Operation Yonatan in his honor. As commander of the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, he led the assault force that stormed the old terminal in Uganda to rescue more than 100 Israeli and Jewish hostages who had been hijacked by terrorists.
The daring mission was widely hailed as a success that astonished the world, but Netanyahu did not live to see its conclusion. He was shot in clashes with Ugandan soldiers and died of his wounds as the aircraft took off for Israel. He was the only Israeli soldier killed in the rescue operation.
First published: 11:40, 02.20.26