KAMPALA — Three former Israeli hostages rescued during the historic 1976 Entebbe Raid have returned to Uganda nearly 50 years after the dramatic operation that thrust the East African nation into the global spotlight.
Benny Davidson, Shay Gross and Tzipi Gonen Cohen arrived in Uganda over the weekend and were received by UPDF Acting Director of Defence Public Information, Col. Chris Magezi.
The visit is particularly significant because the three were born in Uganda and are returning 54 years after leaving the country during the turbulent years of former President Idi Amin’s rule.
For Davidson, Gross and Gonen Cohen, the trip marks a deeply personal homecoming and a return to a country that occupies a unique place in both their lives and modern international history.
The trio are among the survivors of the hostage crisis that culminated in the famous Entebbe Raid of July 1976, when Israeli commandos rescued more than 100 hostages held at Entebbe Airport following the hijacking of an Air France flight. The operation remains one of the most renowned hostage rescue missions in modern military history.
The crisis began on June 27, 1976, when Air France Flight 139, travelling from Tel Aviv to Paris via Athens, was hijacked by Palestinian and German militants and diverted to Entebbe Airport. After a week-long standoff, Israeli special forces launched a daring overnight operation that rescued most of the hostages and brought the crisis to an end.
Davidson’s connection to the operation is particularly well documented. He was just 13 years old when he and his family were among the passengers held hostage at Entebbe before being rescued during the raid.
The return of the three former hostages comes at a time when Uganda and Israel continue to reflect on the legacy of the Entebbe operation, which remains a defining event in the diplomatic and historical relationship between the two countries.
Sources familiar with the visit say the delegation is expected to meet President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during their stay before returning to Israel.
Their visit is being viewed as both a symbolic reconciliation with their country of birth and a commemoration of one of the most consequential events in Uganda’s post-independence history.
Nearly five decades after the rescue mission captivated the world, the return of Davidson, Gross and Gonen Cohen serves as a reminder of the enduring human stories behind the events of July 1976 and the complex historical ties linking Uganda and Israel.