South African intelligence services are investigating how a chartered airplane landed in Johannesburg Thursday carrying more than 150 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip without valid travel documents. The passengers were held on the plane’s hot tarmac for roughly 12 hours.
Civil society groups in South Africa sharply criticized authorities, saying the 153 passengers – including families with children and a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy – were kept on a sweltering plane without food or water because officials refused to let them disembark.
President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed a probe has been launched to determine the flight’s origin, which reportedly routed through Nairobi, Kenya. “These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here,” Ramaphosa said.
The Palestinian embassy in South Africa stated the flight was arranged by an “unregistered and misleading” organization that exploited Gaza’s condition. It said the group deceived families, collected money, and arranged travel irresponsibly – then abandoned them when complications arose. The embassy did not name the group, but an Israeli military source identified it as “Al‑Majd,” which is alleged to have helped transport more than 150 Gazans from the Strip. The source said Israel coordinated buses from Kerem Shalom crossing to Ramon Airport for their departure.
South African authorities reported that 23 of the passengers continued on to other countries, while 130 were permitted to enter South Africa following intervention by the Home Affairs Department and the humanitarian organization Gift of the Givers, which offered accommodation. Ramaphosa said: “Even though they do not have the necessary documents and papers, these are people from a strife-torn, a war-torn country and out of compassion, out of empathy, we must receive them and be able to deal with the situation that they are facing.”
The Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry thanked South Africa “for its principled stance in supporting the Palestinian people” and its “sovereign decision to allow entry for the group from Gaza that arrived without prior coordination.” It warned entities facilitating or misleading Gazans, or involved in trafficking or expulsion, that they will bear legal responsibility and be referred to both local and international proceedings. The ministry urged Gazans to “be vigilant on engaging in any way with such organisations or unofficial intermediaries.”
Human rights organizations raised concerns the flight may be part of an Israeli‑backed effort to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip. According to coordinating bodies, about 40,000 Palestinians have left the Strip since the war began, following arrangements Israel says were approved by a third country. South Africa, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and a leading plaintiff against Israel at The Hague, has described the arrivals as Palestinians “flushed out of Gaza,” though it has not elaborated.
Two South African NGO representatives claimed Al‑Majd has links to Israel and is organizing the exit of Gazans, though they offered no evidence. Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman said this was the second mysterious charter arriving in South Africa, following one in late October carrying 170 Palestinians without disclosure. He said: “The passengers did not initially know where they were going and were given no food for the two days it took to travel to Johannesburg. They were given nothing on the plane itself, and this must be challenged and investigated.”
The website of the group Al‑Majd Europe previously claimed it was a humanitarian organization founded in 2010 in Jerusalem to aid Muslim communities in conflict zones. However, it lists no partner organizations nor contact details, and its claim to work with 15 international bodies remains unverified.
South Africa remains a vocal supporter of the Palestinian struggle and leads the legal campaign against Israel for alleged apartheid and genocide. Israel rejects the claims and labels South Africa “the legal arm of Hamas.”