Gazan sham charities’ crowdfunding funneled cash to alleged terrorists, US probes show
Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.In January 2024, a woman from Gaza created a crowdfunding campaign, asking strangers for donations to help reunite her family.“Rebuilding our lives: a journey from loss to hope,” she wrote, beneath photos of a beaming young family.The woman, Nieama al-Ghazzawi, said she and her two children had escaped Gaza but her husband had been left behind.Her husband’s burger stand and their home had been destroyed, and the family could not afford fees for travel and a visa, al-Ghazzawi wrote on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.“Your assistance means a lot to us. It will bring us back together,” she wrote.The campaign circulated on pro-Palestinian social media, drawing hundreds of donations.US federal investigators are now investigating that appeal as part of a probe into Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, who allegedly led a terrorist squad into Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught before…
Three ongoing US federal investigations are probing the alleged use of humanitarian crowdfunding campaigns to funnel money to terrorist activities, highlighting the intersection of terror financing, social media, and cryptocurrency. One case involves Nieama al-Ghazzawi, who launched a GoFundMe campaign in January 2024 to reunite her family, including her husband, Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, who is now accused of leading a terrorist squad during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and later entering the US. The campaign, which raised over $13,000, was taken down after investigators requested records from GoFundMe.
- A second investigation involves a New York-based anti-Zionist activist charged with sending over $30,000 to a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.
- The third case centers on a California man accused of using sham charities to fundraise for Hamas.
Experts like Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project note that crowdfunding platforms are often less regulated than financial institutions, making them vulnerable to misuse. The FBI warned in November 2023 that "Foreign terrorist organizations often establish fake charities using social media platforms to misdirect unwitting donors to subsidize their operations."
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