'Mystery' as charter flight carrying 153 Palestinians lands in South Africa without papers
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa alleges the passengers have been “flushed out” of Gaza
Israel has been accused of "flushing out' Gaza residents after a charter flight carrying over 150 Palestinians 'mysteriously' landed in South Africa.
Listen to this article
Authorities in South Africa are investigating details surrounding the "mysterious" flight, after the plane touched down without the correct paperwork, after stopping off in Nairobi.
It comes as South African president Cyril Ramaphosa alleged the passengers have all been removed from Gaza - as charities insisted the group had been "bundled off" to Africa.
The plane was held on the tarmac for around 12 hours due to passengers lacking the required exit stamps or slips from Israeli authorities, according to officials.
Mr Ramaphosa, referencing the plane's initial stopover in Nairobi, said the passengers had been admitted "out of compassion".
“These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here," he said.
Read more: Zelenskyy warns Russia is 'plotting big war' in Europe by 2030
The incident has led to accusations from human rights groups that the situation is a symptom of the Israeli government pushing Palestinians out of Gaza.
Israeli officials have claimed the flight was arranged via a legal corridor by a group known as the Al-Majd organisation, with full Israeli co-operation.
Imtiaz Sooliman, Chairman and founder of South African humanitarian agency Gift of the Givers, said the passengers “had no idea where they were bundled off to" and only realised when they touched down in Kenya that they were headed to South Africa.
“Some had visas for Canada, Australia and Malaysia; they were eventually permitted to leave for those countries.”
Speaking on the situation, the Palestinian embassy in South Africa said it was arranged by “an unregistered and misleading organisation that exploited the tragic humanitarian conditions of our people in Gaza, deceived families, collected money from them and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner”.
“This entity later attempted to disown any responsibility once complications arose.”
Israeli officials have disputed the situation, saying the Palestinians left the Gaza Strip after approval from a third country to receive them. They claim it is part of an Israeli government policy allowing Gaza residents to leave.
The Israeli government says that 40,000 Gazans have left the strip since the war began, with dozens to hundreds each week being evacuated to Europe, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The UN, however, report at least 1.9 million people – or about 90 per cent of the population – across the Gaza Strip have been displaced.
South Africa has long been a critic of Israel's war on Gaza. In December 2023, it opened a case against Israel at the United Nations top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing them of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The case is due to conclude in January 2026.
Since opening the case, the world's leading association of genocide scholars, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), has also declared that Israel is committing genocide.
Israel denies all claims of genocide as "Hamas lies".