From Eilat to Johannesburg: The Secretive Journey of 153 Palestinians
A group of 153 Palestinians landed at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport early on 13 November, arriving aboard a chartered aircraft from Nairobi. Their arrival caught South African authorities completely off guard. The passengers were not permitted to disembark and were instead kept inside the aircraft for more than 12 hours.
This website has reconstructed the full route taken by the group, tracing their journey from southern Israel to South Africa.
The group first travelled by bus to Eilat Airport. Their passports were reportedly not stamped by Israeli immigration officials. At the same time, an Airbus A320 operated by a small Romanian charter airline, FLYYO Airlines, was ferried empty from Tel Aviv to Eilat. In the weeks leading up to this unusual operation, the aircraft had been flying Danish, German, and Israeli tourists to the Greek island of Rhodes.
After less than two hours on the ground—during which the Palestinians boarded—the Airbus A320 departed Eilat for Nairobi under flight number 4D2301. The journey lasted 4 hours and 42 minutes, with the aircraft landing in Nairobi at 00:48 local time on 13 November.
At Nairobi Airport, the group waited in transit. Despite the sensitive nature of the operation, Kenyan authorities reportedly did not question the passengers. While FLYYO’s A320 (registered YR-ADD) was still en route, another Airbus A320 departed Johannesburg bound for Nairobi. The all-white aircraft, registered ZS-GAC and operated by South African carrier Global Aviation, had been chartered to transport the Palestinians on the final leg to Johannesburg. Under normal circumstances, this aircraft flies for the domestic airline Lift, mainly on the busy Johannesburg–Cape Town route.
Flight GBB901 landed in Nairobi at 01:45 on 13 November—barely an hour after the group’s initial arrival. A few hours later, at 05:18, the same Airbus A320 ZS-GAC departed Nairobi carrying all 153 Palestinians to Johannesburg, completing a complex and highly discreet two-leg evacuation operation.
