Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, acknowledged a gesture from Uganda that carries a personal significance for him.
He expressed his gratitude to Uganda for placing a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu at the location where he lost his life nearly five decades ago. Israeli commandos launched the rescue mission at Entebbe Airport, where the hostages were being held. Netanyahu’s remarks turned briefly from the wider issues addressed in his speech to the memory of his brother, whose death remains closely connected with the Entebbe operation. Benjamin Netanyahu’s older brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, served as the commanding officer of the mission. His death became closely associated with the Entebbe rescue mission, and his name has since remained linked to the operation.
During his address, Netanyahu paused to thank Uganda for erecting a statue honouring his older brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, at the site where he was killed during the 1976 Entebbe hostage-rescue operation. The Entebbe operation was an Israeli commando mission carried out in Uganda in 1976 to rescue passengers held hostage after their flight was hijacked by terrorists. During the operation, Yonatan was killed while Israeli forces rescued 103 Israeli passengers who had been held hostage. The statue of ‘Yoni’ was unveiled in August 2026 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Entebbe operation. Nearly 50 years after the Entebbe hostage-rescue operation, Yonatan Netanyahu’s memory has been formally marked at the location of his death, with his brother publicly thanking Uganda for the gesture.
“I want to thank Uganda again for recently erecting a statue of Yoni in the place where he fell,” Netanyahu said. The hijackers demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel as part of their conditions, according to details of the operation on idf.il. Netanyahu remembered his words “We are going to win he said, we don’t have other choice.”
