A total of 144 South Sudanese, who entered Israel illegally in recent years, were sent back to their homeland early Tuesday onboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Juba, South Sudan's capital.

This is the second group of illegal African migrants deported by Israeli authorities. The first batch of 127 immigrants was deported a week before. The deportation is part of a campaign to deal with illegal immigrants, mainly from Africa, residing in Israel.

According to the Population, Immigration and Borders Authority (PIBA), on the flight were 91 adults and 53 minors, who have agreed to leave out of their own free will.

Two weeks ago, Interior Minister Eli Yishai announced the implementation of Operation "Going Back Home," which is meant to repatriate some 1,000 Sudanese currently living in Israel.

In recent weeks, more than 300 asylum seekers were detained by authorities and put in detention facilities. Around 600 of the migrants signed papers to leave voluntarily.

Earlier this month, a Jerusalem court overruled a civil rights group's petition to stop the deportations, claiming that official United Nations reports said that South Sudan is too dangerous to allow their return.

The court's decision apparently goes against international treaties, which say that refugees from war zones, like South Sudan, are entitled to the "collective protection" status.

On Sunday, the same court also rejected an appeal by 132 Ivory Coast nationals against their expected deportation. Some 3,000 Ivory Coast migrants live in Israel today, according to PIBA.