Yonatan Netanyahu

Yonatan Netanyahu
Yonatan Netanyahu
יוֹנָתָן נְתַנְיָהוּ
	Last known photo of Netanyahu, taken shortly before his death in Operation Entebbe
Born	March 13, 1946; New York City, US
Died	July 4, 1976 (aged 30); Entebbe, Uganda
Education	Harvard University; Hebrew University of Jerusalem;
Spouse	Tirza Goodman (m. 1967; div. 1972)
Relatives	Nathan Mileikowsky (grandfather); Benzion Netanyahu (father); Elisha Netanyahu (uncle); Benjamin Netanyahu (brother); Iddo Netanyahu (brother); Nathan Netanyahu (cousin); Yair Netanyahu (nephew);
	Military career
Branch	Ground Forces
Service years	1964–1976
Rank	Sgan Aluf
Nickname	Yoni (יוֹנִי)
Unit	Paratroopers Brigade
Commands	Sayeret Matkal
Conflicts	Arab–Israeli conflict Six-Day War; War of Attrition; Yom Kippur War; Operation Entebbe †; ;
Awards	Medal of Distinguished Service

Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu (Hebrew: יוֹנָתָן "יוֹנִי" נְתַנְיָהוּ, pronounced [jonaˈtan ˈjoni netanˈjahu]; March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was an Israeli military officer who commanded Sayeret Matkal during the Entebbe raid. The raid was launched in response to the 1976 hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight from Israel to France by Palestinian and German militants, who took control of the aircraft during a stopover in Greece and diverted it to Libya and then to Uganda, where they received support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Though Israel's counter-terrorist operation was a success, with 102 of the 106 hostages being rescued, Netanyahu was killed in action – the only Israeli soldier killed during the crisis.

The eldest son of the Israeli professor Benzion Netanyahu and brother of future Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yonatan was born in New York City and spent much of his youth in the United States, where he attended high school. After serving in the Israeli military during the Six-Day War, he briefly attended Harvard University before transferring to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1968; soon thereafter, he left his studies and returned to military service in Israel. He joined Sayeret Matkal in the early 1970s and was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service for his conduct in the Yom Kippur War. After his death, Operation Entebbe was renamed "Operation Yonatan" in his honor.