South Africa is taking an uncompromising stance. The country says it will not play a part in the depopulation of Gaza and will not receive any future flights carrying Palestinian refugees under suspicious circumstances. This firm declaration comes after a deeply disturbing event that unfolded at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport last Thursday, placing South Africa at the centre of an international mystery.
A charter flight landed carrying nearly 150 Palestinians under highly secretive conditions. The State Security Agency is now conducting high-level investigations into whether the flight formed part of a coordinated effort to permanently depopulate Gaza. Authorities are still trying to understand how these passengers arrived in Johannesburg without warning.
The group, desperate to escape the ongoing crisis, was allegedly lured by a sophisticated website claiming to offer humanitarian assistance. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola made it clear that this was not an isolated incident.
“They are not only being sent to South Africa, there are other countries where such flights have been have been sent. So indeed it’s a matter that is being investigated and we do not want any further flights to come our way because this is a clear agenda to cleanse out the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank and those areas.”
The passengers included families, young children, and a heavily pregnant woman. They reportedly left Israel from a military base and landed in South Africa with no idea where they were being taken. Human rights groups have described the operation as profoundly unethical.
The Human Trafficking Question
Details surrounding the journey are deeply troubling. Reports suggest that passengers paid between 1,500 and 5,000 dollars to be evacuated through an organisation called Al Majid Europe. It is believed this organisation works in conjunction with the Israel Voluntary Emigration Program, which was reportedly established in 2025 to create a framework for removing Palestinians from their homeland.
Na’eem Jinnah of the Afro-Middle East Centre was direct in his assessment, particularly the lack of information and the compromised legality.
“Well, if you put people on a plane, even if they have paid some money, you put people on a plane without telling them where they are going, you do it in a way that the legality is compromised, not giving them any exit documents or proof. You give them hotel bookings. One person had a hotel booking for Mumbai, another for Kuala Lumpur. Then you dump them in a third country with no plans for how they will be dealt with or looked after. That is human trafficking. What better definition can there be.”
A report from the Israeli daily Haaretz suggests the operation is run by Omer Yanar Lind, an Israeli-Estonian citizen who claims to operate a humanitarian organisation that rescues Muslim communities from conflict zones. However, as Jinnah explains, the organisation appears deeply suspicious and part of a broader state-linked effort.
“This whole thing is a project by an organisation called Al Majd, which works with the Israelis and arranges these kinds of operations with the Israelis. All of this was done in collaboration with the Israelis. The suspicion is that this organisation is very dubious. Its address in Germany does not exist. It claims to be registered in Germany. It is not. It claims to have existed for ten years. It has only existed for about three years. Many suspect it works with Israeli intelligence. It is clearly part of the project of the Israeli state.”
The Palestinian embassy in South Africa quickly posted a warning on X, urging Palestinians to exercise extreme caution when considering evacuation offers.
The Investigation into the Flight
On the day the flight landed, passengers spent most of the day on the tarmac. Authorities were unsure how to process them. Many lacked proper documentation and others had no local address.
Authorities are currently investigating several key questions:
• Who paid for the charter flight?
• How were the passengers allowed to travel from Nairobi to Johannesburg without required Israeli exit stamps?
• Who authorised their departure from Gaza?
The Border Management Agency struggled to determine a course of action. Humanitarian groups later described the delays as inhumane. President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged the sensitivity and complexity of the situation.
“The issue of the Palestinians who have been brought here is a matter that we are paying attention to. We need to look at the origins, where it started, the reason why they have been brought here. Ordinarily we would have said they should go back because they did not have any documentation.”
The government eventually decided to process the group, with the Gift of the Givers providing temporary accommodation. Intelligence services, the Department of Home Affairs, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation are now leading the investigation.
President Ramaphosa confirmed the multi-agency approach.
“Their matter is being processed. We are discussing it. Our intelligence agency is involved and Home Affairs is involved and Derco is involved. We are going to do a proper evaluation and see what the future holds. We will be dealing with it.”
This is reportedly not the first flight carrying Palestinians to land in South Africa under suspicious circumstances. While South Africans and humanitarian groups have responded with compassion, authorities must determine how these individuals arrived and whether South Africa was targeted as part of a broader strategy of forced displacement.
