On Thursday, a charter plane carrying 153 Palestinians from Gaza landed near Johannesburg after transiting through Nairobi; many passengers reportedly lacked exit stamps and clear onward plans. After nearly 12 hours on the tarmac, the group was released into the care of Gift of the Givers; 23 later travelled to other countries. The flight has been linked to Al‑Majd Europe, whose recently registered domain, broken website links, bouncing email and requests for payments into personal accounts have prompted questions about its legitimacy. South African intelligence is investigating and Palestinian officials warn that vulnerable families may have been exploited.
Mysterious Evacuation: 153 Palestinians Fly from Gaza to South Africa in Controversial Charter
On Thursday, a charter plane carrying 153 Palestinians from Gaza landed near Johannesburg after transiting through Nairobi; many passengers reportedly lacked exit stamps and clear onward plans. After nearly 12 hours on the tarmac, the group was released into the care of Gift of the Givers; 23 later travelled to other countries. The flight has been linked to Al‑Majd Europe, whose recently registered domain, broken website links, bouncing email and requests for payments into personal accounts have prompted questions about its legitimacy. South African intelligence is investigating and Palestinian officials warn that vulnerable families may have been exploited.
08:35 PM, 11/16/2025Conflict
Mysterious Evacuation: 153 Palestinians Fly from Gaza to South Africa in Controversial Charter
On Thursday morning a chartered aircraft carrying 153 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip landed at an airport near Johannesburg, catching South African officials off guard. Many passengers reportedly lacked exit stamps or other standard travel paperwork, leaving border officials to question how and why the flight had been organised.
Long wait on the tarmac and emergency care
The plane remained on the runway for almost 12 hours while immigration and border agencies tried to verify passengers' documents and determine their intended destinations and length of stay. After extended questioning, the South African government allowed the passengers to disembark when the local charity Gift of the Givers agreed to provide shelter and assistance. Officials later said 23 of the group continued on to other countries.
Who is Al‑Majd Europe?
The operation has been linked to an organisation calling itself Al‑Majd Europe, which describes on its website that it organises "evacuations from conflict zones." The group — and the way the departures were arranged — has prompted sharp questions from diplomats, charities and the South African government about the organisation's legitimacy and possible coordination with other authorities.
"These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said, adding that it "does seem like they were being flushed out." South Africa's intelligence services have opened an investigation.
Red flags about the group's online presence and payments
Investigations by journalists uncovered several inconsistencies on Al‑Majd Europe's website. The domain almajdeurope.org was only registered in February of this year despite the site claiming a 2010 founding date. Several links return errors, the listed email address bounces, and the site provides no full postal address or working phone number — only a location listed as Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, where no office could be verified.
Reporters also say many families were asked to send payments — reported to be between $1,400 and $2,000 per person, the same fee for children as adults — into personal bank accounts rather than institutional ones. These factors, along with recycled or misattributed photographs on the site, have deepened suspicions about the operation.
Reported route and screening
Passengers say they travelled by bus from Rafah in southern Gaza to the Karem Abu Salem crossing (Kerem Shalom), were checked there, and were then transferred to Israel's Ramon Airport. According to those on board, their travel documents were not stamped when they left the Gaza area. The flight departed on a Romanian aircraft, transited through Nairobi, Kenya, and then arrived in South Africa.
One passenger interviewed said he first heard about the opportunity through a social media advertisement; another person on the flight told journalists there had been a similar charter to Indonesia in June. Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman told the Associated Press he believed Al‑Majd may be acting as an "Israel's front organisation," a claim the group has denied in public statements available on its site.
Official responses and wider concerns
The Palestinian Embassy in South Africa described the flight as organised by "an unregistered and misleading organization 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." The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Palestinians — particularly those remaining inside the Gaza Strip — about networks that may seek to remove families in ways that align with external political objectives.
South African intelligence and border services continue to investigate the incident while diplomats and NGOs work to provide immediate assistance and determine the longer-term status of the passengers.
What remains unclear
- Whether Al‑Majd Europe is a legitimate, registered NGO or a front organisation.
- The extent of any coordination with Israeli authorities or other actors.
- How many similar evacuations have taken place and who financed them.
Authorities and journalists say more verification is needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn. Meanwhile, the episode has raised urgent questions about the protection of vulnerable civilians, the exploitation of humanitarian crises, and the responsibilities of states and charities in cross‑border evacuations.