Israeli Group Quietly Ran Flights Evacuating Palestinians

The plane carrying about 150 Palestinians from Gaza came as a surprise to everyone on the ground when it landed in South Africa in November. It wasn't the only one. Since May, at least three flights filled with Gaza residents who'd signed up to leave the war-torn enclave have landed in Indonesia and South Africa. An Israeli group whose founder adamantly supported President Trump's proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza is behind the flights, an AP investigation has found, raising further questions about the motives behind the evacuation of hundreds of people from the strip. At the time, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola called the flights a "clear agenda to cleanse ... the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank."

Ad Kan, an Israeli organization founded by soldiers and former intelligence officers that means "enough is enough" in Hebrew, worked via another company to distance links to Israel and organize the flights, according to a contract, passenger lists, text messages, financial statements, and interviews with more than two dozen Israelis, Palestinians, and other people involved with the trips. Several of the passengers—who fled after more than two years of a devastating war that has decimated Gaza—said they didn't know who was behind the trip. But they largely didn't care, they said, as long as they could leave. "There was famine, and we had no options. My children were almost killed," said a 37-year-old Palestinian who arrived in South Africa in November. "Death and destruction was everywhere, all day, for two years, and nobody came to the rescue."

Ad Kan kept a distance from the flights. The evacuations were organized through a company called Al-Majd, which describes itself on its website as a humanitarian organization "supporting Palestinian lives" and providing aid for Muslim communities in conflict. Six Palestinians who spoke to the AP said they paid up to $2,000 per person through bank and cryptocurrency transfers. Families who flew to South Africa told AP they weren't aware that Israelis were behind the flights but that in the end, it didn't matter. "I agreed to the flight, and I didn't know the destination," said a Palestinian who sent his wife and son to South Africa. "All I cared about was getting my family out of Gaza and saving them." The AP has much more here.