13 November 2025
A chartered flight carrying over 170 Palestinian refugees landed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Thursday morning, according to a statement by the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers (GoG).
The organisation thanked the South African government — specifically the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Director‑General Zane Dangor and Minister Ronald Lamola — for “receiving Palestinian refugees who arrived on a flight to Johannesburg this morning.”
GoG said the Border Management Authority “acted in accordance with its mandate by not allowing passengers without an exit stamp to disembark” and that Minister Lamola had written to the Department of Home Affairs to waive this requirement on humanitarian grounds.
However, DIRCO reportedly said it was not aware of the arrival.
BACKGROUND
Late last month, Cii Radio published an article stating that “180 Palestinian families” had arrived in South Africa “this week.” The report alleged that the organisation Al‑Majd Europe was advertising “resettlement programmes” for Palestinians to countries including South Africa, Indonesia, and Malaysia, charging between USD 1,000 and USD 5,000 per family. The article raised concerns that the group’s website showed AI‑generated images and had been registered recently, suggesting possible fraud.
“They arrived… with absolutely nothing but clothes on their backs. Many of the children are malnourished.”
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Humanitarian worker Zaheerah Bham-Ismail, who has been assisting directly at OR Tambo, described the conditions onboard the aircraft as “deeply distressing,” saying: “Ventilation is exceptionally poor – we’ve got young kids and pregnant women on this flight, and they’ve had no food.”
She confirmed that passengers were initially not allowed to disembark for many hours, with only a brief humanitarian break later in the afternoon.
“They’ve literally come out of a genocide – there has to be some form of dignity in how they are treated,” she said, adding that volunteers managed to get diapers, water and food onto the aircraft while civil society pushed urgently for a humanitarian corridor.
Bham-Ismail also confirmed that social worker Nigel Branken was onboard with the refugees, providing support as organisations worked “behind the scenes” to secure a resolution.
