While the operation was initially assumed to be purely humanitarian, two Gazans told Reuters they paid $2,000 per seat to secure passage for their families through a programme offering an exit from Gaza.
The refugees were transported by bus from Gaza and flown out of an Israeli airport, with a stopover in Nairobi, before being granted entry into South Africa.
The Role of Al-Majd Europe
According to Reuters, the two Palestinians said they saw online adverts posted by an organisation called Al-Majd Europe offering the chance to leave Gaza and applied some six months ago.
The programme, they said, was open only to families and required applicants to hold a valid passport. Attempts to contact Al-Majd Europe via the email listed on its website did not receive an immediate response, and no phone number was available.
Both Palestinians eventually received messages from Al-Majd Europe via WhatsApp confirming that security clearance had been granted.
They left Gaza by bus, passed through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, and were flown out of Ramon Airport, arriving in South Africa on November 13.
The second Palestinian, who asked to remain anonymous due to concerns about his security and upsetting his new hosts, said his family reluctantly decided to leave Gaza after living through months of bombardment and being forced to evacuate his home in Deir al-Balah several times. He left with his wife and two children, a four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl.
Ramaphosa Announces Investigation
The Palestinians arrived at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on a chartered Global Airways flight from Kenya.
Upon arrival, South African border authorities reported that the group lacked departure stamps, return tickets, and details of their accommodation, prompting immediate scrutiny.
The unexpected arrival also took President Cyril Ramaphosa by surprise. He said he had not been informed of the flight arrangements beforehand and announced that the government would investigate the “mysterious” chartered operation.
According to the Palestinian embassy in South Africa, the group departed Israel’s Ramon Airport and flew via Nairobi “without any prior note or coordination.”
The embassy further accused an “unregistered and misleading organization of exploiting the tragic humanitarian conditions of our people in Gaza, deceiving families, collecting money from them, and facilitating their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner.
Speaking at an event in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa acknowledged the humanitarian dimensions of the situation, saying, “We cannot turn them back.
Even though they do not have the necessary documents and papers, these are people from a strife-torn, a war-torn country.”
He added that the government would conduct a “proper evaluation” and update the public on “what is happening and how this matter came to be where it is.”
