The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has warned Gaza residents to be cautious of unregistered intermediaries after 153 Palestinians arrived in South Africa on a flight from Kenya and were detained for about 12 hours. South Africa issued 90-day visas; 130 people entered while 23 were transferred elsewhere. Palestinian officials described efforts by some companies to mislead people into leaving, while charities are assisting the arrivals. Observers say the transit arrangements raise serious humanitarian and legal concerns and are under investigation.
PA Warns Gaza Residents of 'Agents of Displacement' After Controversial South Africa Flight
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has warned Gaza residents to be cautious of unregistered intermediaries after 153 Palestinians arrived in South Africa on a flight from Kenya and were detained for about 12 hours. South Africa issued 90-day visas; 130 people entered while 23 were transferred elsewhere. Palestinian officials described efforts by some companies to mislead people into leaving, while charities are assisting the arrivals. Observers say the transit arrangements raise serious humanitarian and legal concerns and are under investigation.
06:55 PM, 11/15/2025Conflict
Palestinian Authority urges caution after disputed evacuation flights
The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned Palestinians—particularly those in the Gaza Strip—to be wary of networks and intermediaries that it says aim to remove people from their homes in ways that may align with Israeli interests.
The alert followed the arrival on Friday of 153 Palestinians in Johannesburg after they left Gaza and transited through Kenya. South African authorities detained the group for roughly 12 hours while officials investigated their documentation and the circumstances of their travel.
South Africa, which is pursuing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, issued 90-day visas to most of the arrivals. The Palestinian ministry expressed "deep appreciation" for the support of South African authorities and citizens and welcomed the temporary visas for people it said had departed from Ramon airport in southern Israel.
The Palestinian embassy in Pretoria said it is assisting the travellers, who it described as having "endured over two years of Israeli genocidal war, killing, displacement, and destruction." At the same time, the ministry cautioned that companies, unofficial groups and unregistered middlemen operating inside Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory are attempting to mislead Palestinians and encourage them to leave.
"The ministry calls upon our people, especially our people in the Gaza Strip, to exercise caution and not fall prey to human trafficking, to merchants and companies of blood, and to agents of displacement."
According to South Africa's Border Management Authority, 130 Palestinians ultimately entered the country while 23 were transferred from the airport to other destinations. Most of those who entered are expected to apply for asylum. The South African humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers said it will accommodate the arrivals during their stay.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman told public broadcaster SABC he did not know who had chartered the aircraft. He noted a previous plane carrying 176 Palestinians landed in Johannesburg on October 28, with some passengers subsequently travelling on to other countries.
Some arrivals and charity officials allege that individuals were removed from Gaza, placed on flights without passport stamps and left stranded in third countries. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had no immediate comment. Israeli media quoted the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) saying it had approval from an unnamed third country to receive the Palestinians as part of a policy permitting Gaza residents to leave.
Observers caution that moving civilians from a conflict zone raises serious legal and humanitarian questions. Antony Loewenstein, author of The Palestine Laboratory, said the transit scheme may have been operating for weeks or months and pointed to rumours of private companies organising such flights with the necessary permissions from Israeli and other authorities. "This is the concept of people making money out of other people's misery," he told Al Jazeera, describing the arrangements as potentially facilitating displacement.
Investigations and diplomatic inquiries into how the flights were organised and who sponsored them are ongoing. Palestinian officials have urged residents to seek verified information from official channels and to avoid unregistered intermediaries that could put them at risk.