Iddo Netanyahu: Yoni’s Last Battle
13.05.2026
On May 13 PCTR hosted a book launch of the Czech edition of Yoni’s Last Battle. The Rescue at Entebbe and a discussion with its author – Iddo Netanyahu. The event was organized in cooperation with Zeď Publishing.
In the summer of 1976, Palestinian and German terrorists hijacked an Air France plane to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Non-Israeli passengers were released, about a hundred Jews was kept as hostages. Deep in the heart of Africa, under the protection of the local dictator, the terrorists felt safe. They miscalculated. The Israeli elite unit Sayeret Matkal, known simply as “The Unit,” undertook a risky mission thousands of kilometres from home—and achieved the nearly impossible.
The commander of the operation, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, became a legend literally overnight. A charismatic man who led his men to triumph and the rescue of innocent hostages but paid the ultimate price himself.
As a brother of the rescue force’s commander, and himself a member of the Unit, Iddo Netanyahu had ready access to the participants in the raid. He was able to obtain detailed accounts from the men of the Unit who, for the first time, described the planning and preparations for the mission and its near-perfect execution. What emerged from their accounts is a powerful and stirring story of how the daring undertaking was accomplished after only 48 hours of frantic preparations.
The first edition of the book was published in Hebrew already in 1991. Thanks to ZEĎ Publishing the book is now available also for Czech readers.
Iddo Netanyahu (*1952) – Israeli physician, writer, and playwright. He is the younger brother of Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu and of Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu.
Ido Netanyahu spent part of his childhood in the U.S., where he later returned to pursue his university studies. He also attended university in Jerusalem. From 1970 to 1973, he was a member of the elite Sayeret Matkal unit (later commanded by Yoni himself) and fought in the Yom Kippur War.
As a doctor, he specialized in radiology, but he devoted much of his time to writing. He is the author of several books as well as acclaimed plays that have been performed in New York and St. Petersburg.
An interview with Iddo Netanyahu for IDNES
Photos: Michal Čížek
