Palestinians Spend $2,000 Each to Flee Gaza for South Africa

Last week, more than 130 Palestinians, including families escaping the ravaged Gaza Strip, landed in Johannesburg after each paying $2,000 for flights arranged by a group claiming to facilitate evacuation from the conflict-hit area. The chartered flights, which included a layover in Nairobi, have prompted a probe by South African officials into possible irregularities and concerns regarding the forced displacement of individuals.

Two Palestinians who spoke to Reuters shared the traumatic events that pushed them to leave Gaza. One individual, Ramzi Abu Youssef, 42, a lymphoma patient, left with his family after tragic losses in an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in June 2024. “I had to go for treatment and create a better future for my family,” he stated from Johannesburg.

Another individual, who remained unnamed due to safety fears, described being forcibly uprooted from his home in Deir al-Balah repeatedly during the airstrikes. He evacuated with his wife and two small children, aged four and two. Their experiences underscore the dire conditions in Gaza, more than a month after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was declared in the ongoing 2023 conflict.

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola expressed apprehensions regarding the flight, suggesting it may be part of a larger scheme to expel Palestinians. “It appears to represent a broader strategy to relocate Palestinians from their homeland,” Lamola mentioned during a press conference on Monday. Authorities are currently investigating whether the organizing group had the proper permits for the flight.

Israel has refuted allegations of genocide in Gaza, claiming these accusations are politically driven, and indicated that Palestinians wishing to emigrate can do so with the required legal permissions. The Israeli military’s COGAT unit acknowledged that the departing Palestinians had permission from a third country and valid visas, although Lamola mentioned that South African officials are still verifying this information.

The flight was coordinated by an organization known as Al-Majd Europe, which advertised on social media invitations for families to evacuate Gaza. Applicants were told they needed passports and to fulfill security clearance procedures, based on accounts from the Palestinians interviewed.

Upon their arrival in Johannesburg, many of the evacuees found themselves without departure stamps, return tickets, or confirmed lodging. Abu Youssef reported that his family and several others were granted 90-day visas, with some staying in local hostels and finding accommodation with members of the Muslim community. Twenty-three passengers from the flight moved on to other destinations afterward.

This evacuation highlights the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe within Gaza, where it is estimated that over 69,000 Palestinians have lost their lives since the outbreak of conflict in October 2023, following Hamas attacks in southern Israel that resulted in over 1,200 Israeli casualties and the abduction of 251 individuals. The recent exodus reveals the extreme lengths civilians are taking to escape violence while also raising complex questions around international law and the right to movement from the enclave amid ongoing tensions.

The evacuation has ignited a global dialogue about the legality of such actions, the responsibilities of other nations, and the broader consequences for displaced communities as tensions continue in Gaza.