AP Investigation Ties Mystery Flights From Gaza to Israeli Group

An investigation by the Associated Press has linked a series of flights evacuating Palestinians from Gaza to an Israeli activist group with ties to far-right political proposals advocating Palestinian emigration from the territory.

The flights, which carried hundreds of Gaza residents to countries including Indonesia and South Africa since early 2025, have drawn scrutiny from officials and rights groups questioning whether the departures reflect humanitarian evacuation efforts or a broader political agenda.

At least three flights carrying Palestinians who had registered to leave Gaza landed in foreign destinations beginning in May, according to the investigation.

One of the aircraft transported roughly 150 passengers to South Africa in November, arriving unexpectedly at a Johannesburg airport.

Earlier flights had taken nearly 60 passengers through Hungary to Indonesia in May, while another flight carried around 170 individuals to South Africa via Kenya in October.

The investigation identified Ad Kan, an Israeli organization founded by soldiers and former intelligence officers, as the group coordinating the flights. The organization operated through a separate entity, Al-Majd, which describes itself online as a humanitarian organization providing aid to Palestinian and Muslim communities in conflict areas.

Contracts, passenger lists, financial records, and text messages reviewed by AP suggest the structure was intended to distance the operations from direct Israeli involvement. American-Israeli businessman Moti Kahana signed a contract in August to help arrange a flight that could transport more than 300 Palestinians from Israel’s Ramon Airport to Indonesia for a minimum payment of $750,000.

The investigation also highlighted the political background of Ad Kan’s founder, Gilad Ach. The activist supported a proposal advanced by U.S. President Donald Trump in 2024 to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to other countries.

In a policy document published after the proposal emerged, Ach outlined a plan to complete the emigration of Gaza’s Palestinian population within six to eight months with international coordination.

Trump later abandoned the proposal following international criticism and warnings from rights groups and the United Nations that such a plan could amount to ethnic cleansing.

However, some far-right Israeli political groups continue to advocate policies encouraging Palestinian emigration from Gaza.

Israel’s government created a Voluntary Emigration Bureau under the Defense Ministry earlier in 2025. It remains unclear whether Ad Kan coordinated its flights with Israeli authorities.

Ach defended the evacuation flights as humanitarian in nature. In a text message to AP, he said he supported Palestinians who wanted to leave Gaza for safer locations and rejected allegations that the flights were intended to remove Palestinians permanently.

“Their continued presence in Gaza, under dire conditions, serves as a tool to pressure Israel internationally,” he said, adding that many countries had refused to accept Palestinian refugees.

Several Palestinians who boarded the flights said they did not know who organized the evacuation but were primarily motivated by the deteriorating conditions in Gaza following more than two years of war.

“There was famine, and we had no options,” said a 37-year-old Palestinian who arrived in South Africa in November. “Death and destruction was everywhere, all day, for two years.”

According to accounts from passengers interviewed by AP, individuals typically paid up to $2,000 per person through bank transfers or cryptocurrency to secure seats on the flights.

Participants were contacted shortly before departure and instructed to meet at locations where buses transported them out of Gaza into Israel. After security checks, passengers were allowed to board flights with only limited personal belongings.

The arrival of Palestinian passengers in South Africa prompted diplomatic concern. South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola described the flights as a “clear agenda to cleanse out the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank.”

Following the November arrival, South Africa revoked its 90-day visa exemptions for Palestinian passport holders, citing concerns over what authorities described as abuse linked to emigration efforts.

It remains unclear whether Palestinians who departed Gaza through these flights would be permitted to return. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office and the defense body responsible for coordinating Palestinian travel, COGAT, declined to comment on questions regarding the evacuation program.

Families who used the flights said the identity of the organizers mattered less than the opportunity to escape war conditions.

“All I cared about was getting my family out of Gaza and saving them,” one Palestinian said.