Nearly five decades after surviving one of the world’s most dramatic hostage rescue operations, three former Israeli hostages have returned to Uganda on an emotional journey marked by reflection, healing, and reconciliation.
Benny Davidson, who was 13 years old during the 1976 Entebbe hostage crisis, Shy Gross, then aged six, and Tzipi Cohen, who was eight at the time, arrived at Entebbe International Airport on Sunday evening. The delegation was received by Col. Chris Magezi, the Acting Spokesperson of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
For Davidson, returning to Uganda after 50 years carried deep personal meaning.
“For us, it’s a statement. We didn’t expect such a warm welcome. For us to decide after 50 years to board a plane and come back to Uganda, where we were evacuated in the middle of the night, it required an internal conviction,” he said.
For Cohen, the visit holds even greater emotional weight, as she lost her father during the rescue operation and says it took decades to find the strength to return.
Breaking down in tears, she reflected on their final moments together.
“I want to go to the place and say goodbye to him for the last time because the last time I saw him was here in Uganda at the old airport terminal when he was wounded and lifeless, and they just pulled me away from him. After 50 years, I just want to say goodbye to him and light a candle for him,” she said.
“It’s very, very emotional to me,” she added.
Cohen also recounted how the ordeal began.
“We were supposed to fly to Paris for a tour and to visit our relatives. Then suddenly the plane landed in Greece, and that was when terrorists came onto the plane. We were kidnapped, and that’s how we found ourselves in Uganda,” she said.
The three were passengers aboard Air France Flight 139, which was hijacked on June 27, 1976, by two Palestinian and two German militants while en route from Tel Aviv to Paris. The aircraft was diverted to Entebbe Airport, where 106 Israeli and Jewish passengers were held hostage at the old terminal building.
The crisis ended on the night of July 3–4, 1976, when Israeli commandos carried out the Entebbe Raid, also known as Operation Thunderbolt, rescuing 102 hostages in a 90-minute operation that became one of the most renowned rescue missions in modern history.
Nearly 50 years later, the return of Davidson, Gross, and Cohen represents a journey of remembrance, healing, and reconciliation.
The former hostages are expected to visit the historic Old Entebbe Airport Terminal, where they will pay tribute to those who lost their lives during the operation, including visiting the site where Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, commander of the Israeli assault team and elder brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was fatally wounded.
The visit is intended to honour the memory of all who died during the operation and to reflect on one of the most significant hostage rescue missions in modern history.
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