“Who Organised This?”: Gent Speaks About Unknown Second Plane Carrying Palestinian Refugees to SA

• A TikTok user shared a detailed breakdown of how two planes carrying over 300 Palestinians arrived in South Africa within three weeks
• The second plane on 13 November had 153 Palestinians who were kept on board for 12 hours because they did not have the proper documentation
• Gift of the Givers blamed Israel for not stamping passports, but Israel confirmed that they don't stamp anyone's passports on exit and use electronic records instead

TikTok user @edlin1344, who shares political content about South Africa, posted a video on 16 November 2025, where a man broke down the mystery behind two planes that brought over 300 Palestinians to South Africa in just three weeks. He went into detail about what really happened behind the scenes, sharing the clip with the caption:

"What happened at O.R. Tambo Airport 'Palestinian Refugees' in South Africa."

According to the information gathered by the man sharing his thoughts on the Palestinian passengers, the first plane arrived quietly on 28 October with 168 Palestinians from Gaza who passed through immigration without much noise.

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Most people didn't even know about it until two weeks later, when commentators started pointing out that the plane had already landed. But things blew up when the second plane arrived on 13 November at around 6:15 am at OR Tambo from Nairobi, Kenya, carrying 153 Palestinians.

Palestinians kept on plane for hours

According to the Border Management Authority, officers found three big problems during standard immigration interviews. The group didn't say how long they planned to stay in South Africa, they didn't have addresses for accommodation, and their passports didn't have departure stamps from their last point of exit. Because they failed the immigration test, they were kept on the aircraft for around 12 to 13 hours.

Gift of the Givers leader Dr Imtiaz Sooliman stepped in and described it as a humanitarian crisis, saying there were children and a pregnant woman on the plane with heat, lack of proper ventilation, and delays with food and water.

He blamed Israel for refusing to stamp their passports on exit, claiming they did it deliberately. However, the Israeli embassy in South Africa went public on their X page @IsraelinSA and said Israel doesn't stamp passports on exit for anybody. They use electronic records and paper slips instead, and they haven't stamped passports for years.

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More on the Palestinian passengers

According to the Daily Maverick, Dirco was not told about the first flight in advance but was tipped off after the fact. The passengers on both flights appeared to have paid around $2,000 each to a shadowy organisation called Al-Majd to escape Gaza. Most of the passengers didn't know where they were being taken and were stripped of most of their possessions by Israeli authorities before boarding.

The major question being investigated is whether Al-Majd is simply a business profiting off people's desperation to flee Gaza, or whether something more sinister is at play involving the Israeli government. Behind the scenes on 13 November 2025, those who could authorise the passengers to disembark were largely unavailable, with Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber cloistered in an all-day meeting and Dirco Minister Ronald Lamola on a plane from Canada.

Gift of the Givers eventually signed surety for the whole plane, committing to supply accommodation and humanitarian assistance. Minutes before the plane was due to return to its country of origin, President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered that the Palestinians must be allowed into South Africa.

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Watch the TikTok clip below:

More on the Palestinian refugee flight

• Briefly News recently reported on DJ Warras sharing his thoughts on the arrival of Palestinian refugees in South Africa.
• ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula opened up about the Palestinian asylum issue after 153 Palestinians were prevented from entering at OR Tambo.
• Reports indicate that SA aviation operators have been getting requests for charter flights carrying Palestinians since August 2025.

Source: Briefly News