This weekend, Israel marked 50 years since Operation Entebbe — the 1976 IDF hostage rescue at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, in which Lt. Col. Yonatan 'Yoni' Netanyahu was killed. The anniversary has been observed with ceremonies, survivor testimonies, and retrospectives across Israeli media.
Israel observed the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe this weekend, marking one of the most celebrated missions in the country's military history. On the night of July 3-4, 1976, IDF commandos from Sayeret Matkal stormed the old terminal at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, rescuing 102 of the 106 hostages held there by Palestinian and German hijackers. The operation, code-named Operation Thunderbolt (Mivtza Yonatan), was led by Yonatan Netanyahu — the mission's only Israeli fatality — who was killed in the final moments of the assault.
As The Zioneer has reported over the past week, the anniversary has been marked by a series of commemorative events and new historical retrospectives. Survivors, including Shai Gross and Rabbi Dov (Gilbert) Weil, have given interviews recounting the rescue. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Yoni's brother, also spoke at a memorial Sunday evening, vowing Israel would maintain its security buffer zone in southern Lebanon as long as needed, and pledged to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The Entebbe raid remains a formative symbol of Israeli military reach, daring, and the principle that the state does not abandon its citizens to hostage-takers. The anniversary has also prompted fresh archival releases and documentaries exploring untold angles of the mission.
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