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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday that authorities are investigating how a chartered flight carrying 153 Palestinian refugees arrived in the country from Kenya without proper documentation or clearance.
“These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here,” Ramaphosa told reporters. He said the country’s intelligence agency and the Department of Home Affairs have launched an investigation.
The flight, which landed Thursday at OR Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg, sparked confusion and backlash as the passengers, fleeing Israel’s war on Gaza, reportedly lacked the necessary interviews, departure stamps, and accommodation details typically required for entry.
Initially denied entry, the Palestinians spent more than 10 hours on the tarmac before authorities granted them 90-day visa exemptions. By that time, 23 individuals had already boarded onward flights to other destinations, according to a statement from Home Affairs.
Officials said border authorities noticed discrepancies in documentation, including missing exit stamps and a lack of return tickets. The incident triggered outrage among South Africans who have long voiced strong support for the Palestinian cause.
In a statement posted on social media, the Palestinian Embassy in South Africa said the 153 Palestinians had traveled “from Gaza via Ramon Airport through Nairobi without any prior note or coordination.”
The embassy blamed an “unregistered and misleading organization” for arranging the flight and exploiting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The group, it said, “collected money from families, facilitated their irregular travel, and later attempted to disown any responsibility once complications arose.”
Humanitarian group Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman told South Africa’s SABC that the refugees had been misled and placed in a precarious situation.
“This sounds like something very sinister. This is not the first flight; it’s the second,” he said. “This seems to be a coordinated effort from Israel to carry out a process of ethnic cleansing.”
He claimed that those fleeing Gaza paid significant sums to intermediaries, were routed through Israel’s Ramon military base, and arrived in countries unaware of their destination or legal status.
In response, Israeli authorities said Saturday the Palestinians had been allowed to exit Gaza after COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing civilian matters in Palestinian territories, received approval from a third country to receive them.
COGAT spokesman Shimi Zuaretz declined to name the country, but confirmed the Palestinians were permitted to leave only after that approval was secured.
One of the passengers, Loay Abu Saif, told Al Jazeera that Israel facilitated the group’s transfer. He said the journey involved long waits, a change of aircraft, and no prior knowledge of their final destination.
Describing it as a “trip of suffering,” Abu Saif said the organization managing the evacuations prioritized families with children and required valid Palestinian documents and Israeli security clearance. The cost per person ranged from $1,400 to $2,000, he said.
Abu Saif noted that after being bused from Rafah to Karem Abu Salem for Israeli checks, the group was flown out from Ramon Airport, and no departure stamps were placed in their documents.
Thursday’s flight was the second chartered plane to bring Palestinians to South Africa. A previous flight in late October carried 176 people fleeing the war-torn Gaza Strip.
The South African government has not yet identified the organization behind the flights. Ramaphosa said the investigation would determine “how this happened” and whether any laws were broken.
South Africa is currently pursuing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over alleged genocide in Gaza. The government’s vocal criticism of Israel has drawn praise from pro-Palestinian activists and condemnation from pro-Israel groups.
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