To understand why Netanyahu’s memory travels with Israeli forces today, you have to go back to June 27, 1976.
In honor of Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, soldiers of the IDF’s Oded Brigade have brought a Torah scroll written in his memory to their base in Syria.
The brigade, now on their fourth deployment since the war began, shared the photo on social media as they commemorate both the 49th anniversary of their fallen hero and one of Israel’s greatest military achievements.
To understand why Netanyahu’s memory travels with Israeli forces today, you have to go back to June 27, 1976.
Air France Flight 139 was supposed to be a routine Tel Aviv to Paris flight with a stopover in Athens.
Instead, it became the opening act of one of history’s most audacious rescue missions.
Four terrorists, two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two from Germany’s Baader-Meinhof group, hijacked the Airbus A300 with 248 passengers aboard.
They forced the plane to fly first to Benghazi, Libya, then on to Entebbe Airport in Uganda, where dictator Idi Amin welcomed them with open arms.
At Entebbe, the terrorists separated Jewish and Israeli passengers from the others, releasing 148 non-Jewish hostages while keeping 105 Jews and Israelis, plus the Air France crew who refused to abandon them.
The hijackers demanded the release of 53 Palestinian and pro-Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel and other countries.
While the world watched and diplomats negotiated, Israeli military planners were working on something unprecedented.
They would fly four cargo planes 2,500 miles to the heart of Africa, land at a hostile airport defended by Ugandan troops, eliminate the terrorists, and bring everyone home.
Codenamed “Operation Thunderbolt” (later renamed Operation Entebbe), the mission required split-second timing.
Intelligence came from released hostages, Israeli engineers who had built parts of Entebbe Airport, and Mossad sources.
They knew the terminal layout, the terrorists’ positions, and Amin’s troop deployments.
Although Yonatan Netanyahu wasn’t part of the Oded Brigade who paid tribute this week, he commanded the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, Israel’s most secretive special forces group.
At 30, he was already a legendary figure in Israeli military circles, known for his calm leadership and tactical brilliance.
On July 3, just after midnight, the first Israeli plane touched down at Entebbe. A black Mercedes rolled out, looking exactly like Idi Amin’s presidential car.
Ugandan sentries actually saluted as it passed, carrying Israeli commandos toward the terminal.
Netanyahu led the assault team into the old terminal building where the hostages were held. Within minutes, his men had eliminated the terrorists and secured the building.
But as they prepared to evacuate, Ugandan soldiers opened fire from the control tower.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s older brother was hit while directing the evacuation of hostages to the waiting planes. Yonatan died ensuring everyone else made it out safely.
In 90 minutes, 102 of the 105 remaining hostages were rescued. Only three hostages died in the crossfire, along with Netanyahu.
The mission’s success was so complete that “Entebbe” became synonymous with the impossible made possible. But for the Israeli military, it was also a reminder that even perfect operations carry a price.
So true today, as the Jewish State has paid a hefty price defending itself from her enemies since Hamas’s unprovoked attacks on October 7th, 2023.
As per the latest IDF figures, in 21 months of battle on multiple fronts spanning from Gaza to Lebanon, 883 brave soldiers have died and nearly 10,000 have been wounded in action.
