Uganda will soon construct a statue honoring Lt.-Col. Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu at Entebbe International Airport, the country’s Chief of Defense Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced on Thursday in a post on social media.
According to Kainerugaba, the statue will be placed at the exact location where Netanyahu was killed during the 1976 hostage rescue operation.
Kainerugaba, who is the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, said the proposed monument is a symbol of the strong ties between Uganda and Israel. However, he did not provide a specific date for the statue’s unveiling, and no formal government announcement from Uganda was immediately available.
Lt.-Col. Yoni Netanyahu, the older brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was the only Israeli soldier killed during Operation Entebbe, a mission that freed Jewish hostages held at the airport after an Air France flight was hijacked in 1976.
The Entebbe operation is one of the most significant moments in Israel’s national history, and Yoni Netanyahu’s heroism and sacrifice to ensure the mission’s success are central to the story of the operation.
Israeli officials have marked the anniversaries of Operation Entebbe in Uganda, with notable visits including Prime Minister Netanyahu’s participation in a 2016 memorial ceremony at Entebbe Airport, where he also delivered public remarks.
Netanyahu also visited Uganda in 2020, where he met President Museveni. At the time, Netanyahu announced that Uganda was considering opening an embassy in Jerusalem.