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Strong accusations against the GoFundMe platform, it is blocking millions of dollars in aid for Gaza suffering from hunger

2025-06-26 20:13:30Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Strong accusations against the GoFundMe platform, it is blocking millions of
Jana Ayad, a malnourished Palestinian girl, lies in a bed at the International Medical Corps field hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir el-Balah, southern Gaza, June 22, 2024.

The popular platform GoFundMe has come under fire after it was accused of blocking millions of dollars raised for humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Activists, charity leaders and desperate Palestinians say the platform has banned or deleted pages that were collecting aid for the war-torn population.

According to Al Jazeera reports , the company has refused to make public the exact amounts of funds frozen or refunded.

However, she confirmed that since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, over $300 million has been raised on the platform for causes related to Israel and Palestine.

One of the most notable cases is that of the British organization The Sameer Project, which had raised over $1 million to help displaced people in Gaza. In one case alone, GoFundMe has refunded about $250,000 raised for this organization. Founder Hala Sabbah says the site was shut down despite full documentation provided and the fact that the platform made about $44,000 in transaction fees.

“We submitted every receipt, every proof of the use of the funds. But they still shut down our website and didn’t even allow us to access the donor list,” she said. “We are collecting aid for children in danger of their lives, while others are collecting funds for the army, without any obstacles. This is injustice. They have blood on their hands.”

The platform has required organizers of pages about Palestine to undergo "thorough vetting," often requiring sensitive documents that are difficult to obtain in wartime, such as personal IDs, bank transfers, and local partner details.

Many pages about Gaza have been suspended or closed, while gatherings about Israel or Ukraine do not face the same level of scrutiny.

Another example is that of two Palestinian brothers, Mostafa Abuthaher and Yahya Fraij, whose GoFundMe pages were shut down twice. They had raised over $12,000 for their families in al-Mawasi, an area in southern Gaza designated as “safe” but regularly bombed. GoFundMe asked for additional documentation and then shut down the page.

In Gaza, where banks have been destroyed and cash flow is limited, charities are using alternative routes to transfer aid, through local exchange points or cryptocurrencies. These methods are often the only way to secure medicine, food and drinking water.

GoFundMe has been criticized for the large profits it takes from campaigns, 30 cents for each donation and 2.9% of the amount raised, even when these pages are then shut down without a clear explanation.

Meanwhile, organizations like The Sameer Project have distributed over 800,000 liters of water, 850 tents, financial aid, and medical treatment to hundreds of children in Gaza.

Critics say the platform is hindering aid to civilians in one of the worst humanitarian crises of the century. As international aid is delayed and the situation worsens, the closure of these sites is a severe blow to the thousands of lives that depend on them.


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