Uganda Unveils Statue of Israeli War Hero Yonatan Netanyahu

A bronze monument to Yonatan Netanyahu has been erected on the grounds of the old Entebbe airport terminal, where the Israeli commando raiding operation that rescued more than a hundred hostages took place in June 1976.

Army Chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba told reporters that the statue “honours his courage and self‑less service” and that the mission remains “one of the most significant episodes in modern history.”

Netanyahu was the only Israeli soldier killed in the raid; no Israeli staffers were injured. By contrast, four hostages, two hijackers, three accomplices and at least forty‑five Ugandan soldiers died during the operation.

The statue depicts Netanyahu in a forward stride, holding a machine gun, paying homage to the man who sacrificed himself to save others and symbolising the bond forged when Uganda welcomed the Israeli forces into its soil.

In remarks about the past, Kainerugaba stated that the event was a “painful chapter” for Uganda, noting that the government of Idi Amin had been a brutal dictatorship, but added that the two countries’ relationship has since evolved into a partnership of “mutual trust, respect and cooperation.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited Entebbe about a decade ago, said he learned from his brother that “you need two things to defeat terrorists: clarity and courage.”