Yoni Netanyahu (z"l)
Yoni Netanyahu (z"l)Israel news photo

On Saturday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited the grave of his brother Yoni, who fell during the daring rescue of hijacked Israelis in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976.  

He and his wife Sarah decided to go to the gravesite on Mount Herzl 24 hours before the beginning of Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers in order to prevent security tie-ups for thousands of other Israelis who will visit the cemetery Sunday night and Monday.

The Netanyahus were moved emotionally after seeing for the first time a commemorative decoration that the IDF carved into the gravestone of Yoni, who led the rescue operation and was the only soldier to die in the maneuver. One of his less known heroic deeds is his saving a soldier from across Syrian lines in the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Sirens will sound throughout Israel for one minute at 8 p.m. (1 p.m. EDT) Sunday night to mark the beginning of Memorial Day for 22,682 Fallen Soldiers and 2,431 victims of Arab terrorist attacks following the re-establishment of the State of Israel after 2,000 years. Another 1,500 civilians were killed between 1860 and the 1948 War for Independence, when seven Arab nations attacked the fledging, newly declared state just three years after the Holocaust ended.

On Monday morning, a two-minute siren will sound at 11 a.m. (4 a.m. EDT).