They said none of the Palestinians had applied for asylum, leading to their initial denial of entry.<\/p>\n
According to the Haaretz daily, the group left Gaza early Wednesday morning, via the Strip\u2019s southern Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, following Israeli vetting.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Members of the group were then taken by bus to Israel\u2019s Ramon Airport, near Eilat, where they boarded a chartered plane to Kenya\u2019s capital, Nairobi, and from there boarded the chartered flight to Johannesburg.<\/p>\n Humanitarian group Gift of the Givers intervened to offer accommodation and support and authorities then cleared 130 members of the group for entry under a standard 90-day visa exemption, while 23 had already departed for other destinations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Palestinians had no idea where they were bundled off to, only when in Kenya did they realize they were coming to South Africa. Some had visas for Canada, Australia and Malaysia, they were eventually permitted to leave for those countries,\u201d said Imtiaz Sooliman, chair and founder of Gift of the Givers.<\/p>\n South Africa won’t let refugees from Gaza leave the plane at Johannesburg airport tarmac. The Gazans have uploaded clips of their families stranded inside the plane.pic.twitter.com\/9OaViti79j<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ahmed Quraishi (@_AhmedQuraishi) November 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Sooliman said the remaining options in the meantime were for them to \u201cmove to a country of their choice if that country accepts them, have a temporary short-stay visa for South Africa, a visitor\u2019s visa for 90 days which can be renewed several times, a student visa for study purposes, or apply for asylum.\u201d\n<\/p>\n However, the South African Zionist Federation on Friday called Sooliman\u2019s allegation a \u201ccalculated distortion weaponized to inflame outrage over facts,\u201d given Israel uses electronic visas instead of physical passport stamps.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees the flow of people and goods to and from Gaza, told the Haaretz daily that the Palestinians had received visas from South Africa ahead of time. COGAT was also cited by the newspaper as saying that, as a rule, Israel always makes sure that there is a country that will accept Gazans departing the Strip.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s interior ministry said the Palestinian Authority\u2019s embassy in the country had told it the group was deceived and charged money by an unspecified unregistered organization, which later \u201cattempted to disown any responsibility once complications arose.<\/p>\n \u201cWe obviously need to look at the origins (of the 130 Palestinians\u2019 journey), where it started, the reason why they\u2019ve been brought here,\u201d President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cBut \u2026 out of compassion, and because they are a people that we as South Africa have raised our hands to support, we felt that we should accept them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ramaphosa said South African intelligence agencies, the Department of Home Affairs, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation were now assessing the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to do a proper evaluation and see what the future portends,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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