A plane carrying more than 100 Palestinian refugees fleeing the war in Gaza landed on Thursday morning at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, but its clearance was delayed for several hours after Israeli authorities allegedly refused to stamp the passengers’ passports, according to the humanitarian group Gift of the Givers Foundation (GOTG).

Imtiaz Sooliman, founder and chairperson of the GOTG, said in a statement that the South African Border Management Authority (BMA) initially prevented the refugees from disembarking because their travel documents lacked Israeli exit stamps.

“The Border Management Authority acted in keeping with their mandate not to allow passengers without an exit stamp to disembark,” Sooliman said, adding that “Israel deliberately did not stamp the passports of these poor people to exacerbate their suffering in a foreign country.”

Sooliman thanked South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, and his Director-General, Zane Dangor, for intervening to resolve the issue. He said Lamola had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which agreed to waive the exit-stamp requirement on humanitarian grounds.

“This is in keeping with South Africa’s policy of standing with Palestine by taking the terrorist, genocidal, apartheid state of Israel to the ICJ and ICC, and garnering a boycott of that country,” Sooliman said.

This marks the second group of Palestinian refugees to arrive in South Africa since the war in Gaza escalated in October 2023. The first plane, carrying 176 Palestinians, landed at OR Tambo late last month.

Sooliman explained that the newly arrived refugees were family members of the first group. “These people were displaced and didn’t know where to go or how to make contact. Their relatives in South Africa informed us that a second plane was coming,” he told the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

While the GOTG confirmed that senior government officials welcomed the refugees, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) initially said it was not aware of their arrival. DIRCO spokesperson Chrispin Phiri noted that the department would issue a statement once the BMA clarified the situation.

“They are the ones who know who enters the country and how,” Phiri said.

Sooliman, however, insisted that DIRCO officials were fully informed. “DG Zane Dangor is fully aware. Chief Director for the Middle East, Shannon Ebrahim, is fully aware,” he maintained.

He expressed gratitude to the South African government and civil society partners for their continued support, noting that GOTG teams will provide humanitarian, legal, and medical assistance to the refugees.

South Africa has taken a leading role internationally in condemning Israel’s military actions in Gaza. In 2023, it filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention. The case argues that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide, citing mass civilian deaths and restrictions on humanitarian aid.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October 2023.