How to send money to Gaza from the UK in 2026

My name is Mohammed. I am an agricultural engineer, and I live in Gaza City with my wife and our two children. A lot of the people who help us write from the UK, and almost every first message asks the same thing: can I just send it from my bank? This page is my answer, from the side where the money lands. I will tell you what works, what it costs you in pounds, and what never reaches us.

Every way to send money from the UK, checked

This is what happens to money sent from the UK to a family in Gaza as of October 2026. The costs are what you pay on your side. Where a fee depends on your bank or exchange, the app shows it to you before you confirm.

Why your bank app cannot do it

Every UK bank app, from the high street banks to Monzo, Starling and Revolut, sends money abroad the same way: into a bank account in the other country. That is the problem. A transfer to a bank in Gaza, even if it is accepted, is a number on a screen. The branches near us are destroyed or closed, cash machines barely exist, and a balance does not buy flour.

Wise and Revolut do not complete transfers to Gaza at all. If a friend tells you their app "worked", ask them one question: did the family get cash in their hand, or just a message saying a transfer arrived?

Before the war I had a bank account, a salary and a debit card like you. I am not describing a place that never had banks. I am describing banks that stopped, while the people around them kept needing to eat.

PayPal from the UK: what you will see

This is the way most people in the UK help us, and the easiest one.

1. Press any Donate button on this site. It opens our PayPal donation page in a new tab.
2. Type the amount. The page is in US dollars. £50 is about $66, £20 is about $27, £100 is about $133.
3. Pay with your UK debit card, credit card or PayPal balance.
4. Before you confirm, PayPal shows you the total in pounds. That number is everything it will take from you.

PayPal's UK fee page says a donation carries no fee for the person giving when no currency conversion is involved. Because our page is in dollars, there is a conversion, and PayPal builds its charge for that into the exchange rate it shows you. If your card is one with no foreign transaction fees, your bank adds nothing on top. On our side, PayPal takes its processing fee, and the rest reaches us the same day.

Crypto from the UK, step by step

If you are comfortable with an app like Coinbase or Kraken, crypto is the fastest way to reach us and costs the least on larger amounts. Someone who had never bought crypto before set it up with us in one evening over a few emails. Here is the whole thing.

1. Use a UK exchange registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, such as Coinbase or Kraken. You can check any firm on the FCA register. The exchange will ask for your ID once, because UK law requires it.
2. Buy USDT or USDC with your card or a bank transfer in pounds. These are digital dollars: one is worth one US dollar, so the amount does not swing.
3. Send it to our address from the crypto page. Copy and paste it, never type it.
4. Pick the network that matches the address. Our USDT and USDC address works on Ethereum (ERC20). Our separate USDT address works on Tron (TRC20). If your exchange offers a different network, such as Base, do not use it for our Ethereum address. Choose Ethereum.
5. Send a small test first if it is your first time, then the rest.
6. Email us the transaction link so I can thank you and show you what it bought.

The network fee is what the blockchain charges to move it. On the last two USDT gifts we received on Ethereum, on 26 and 29 October 2026, it was about 3p and under 1p. Your exchange adds its own withdrawal fee, which it shows you before you send. If you send from your own wallet, such as MetaMask, keep a little ETH in it to pay the network fee, or the send will fail.

One UK tax point. HMRC counts giving crypto to another person as a disposal for Capital Gains Tax, unless the gift goes to your spouse, civil partner or a charity. If you buy and send on the same day, there is almost no gain, so in most cases there is nothing to pay. If you are giving from crypto you bought long ago at a lower price, check the gain first.

Is it legal to send money to Gaza from the UK?

Yes, to a civilian family. UK financial sanctions are lists of people and organisations, not places. When we checked in September 2026, the UK sanctions list had 6,284 entries and none of them is Gaza itself. What the law forbids is making money available to anyone on that list, and supporting a proscribed group, and Hamas is a proscribed organisation in the UK. Buying flour, water and rent for a family that appears on no list is a different thing.

That is why who you give to matters more than how. Give to a family you can check. Our names, ID and documents are on the verification page, and the long answer, with every source, is in is it legal to donate to a family in Gaza? We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. It is what the public rules say.

Gift Aid does not apply

Gift Aid adds 25p to every pound, but only when the gift goes to a registered charity or a community amateur sports club that HMRC recognises. A gift to a family is a personal gift, so there is no Gift Aid and no tax relief. If the extra 25p matters to you, a registered UK charity working in Gaza is the right choice, and you should give there. If you want your money to reach one family you can see and talk to, that is what we are.

What your pounds buy in Gaza City this month

These are our real prices, from our own purchases, turned into pounds so you can see what a gift does on our side.

So £64 is a week of clean water for four people. £42 is four days of formula. Prices here changed a lot in October, after commercial trucks stopped coming in on the 14th, and I update these numbers when they move.

My honest recommendation

Giving £100 or less, once: use PayPal. It takes two minutes, it works with any UK card, and it reaches us the same day.

Giving more, or giving often: crypto is worth the evening it takes to set up. After the first time, a gift takes a minute and the network fee is pennies.

Never: post cash, send money through a stranger who says he can carry it, or wire money to a bank account in Gaza and hope. And whoever you give to, check them first. A real family can show you who they are.

Questions people ask

Can I send money to Gaza from the UK?

Yes. As of October 2026, two ways reach a family in Gaza from the UK: PayPal, paid with a UK card or PayPal balance, which reaches the Al-Shanti family the same day, and crypto such as USDT or USDC bought on a UK exchange, which arrives in minutes. Bank transfers, Wise and Revolut do not get money into a family's hands in Gaza.

Can I use Monzo, Starling, Revolut or Wise to send money to Gaza?

Not in practice. Wise and Revolut do not complete transfers to Gaza. Monzo, Starling and the high street banks send money abroad into a bank account, and in Gaza most branches are destroyed or closed and cash is scarce, so a bank balance does not become food. PayPal or crypto are what reach a family.

Is it legal to send money to a family in Gaza from the UK?

Yes, to a civilian family. UK financial sanctions list people and organisations, not places, and Gaza itself is not on the list. The law forbids making money available to anyone on the UK sanctions list and supporting proscribed groups such as Hamas. Giving to a family you can verify, for food and rent, is not prohibited. This is general information, not legal advice.

Can I claim Gift Aid on a donation to a family in Gaza?

No. Gift Aid can only be claimed by a charity or community amateur sports club recognised by HMRC. A gift to a family is a personal gift, so there is no Gift Aid and no tax relief. Donors who want Gift Aid should give to a registered UK charity working in Gaza.

What is the cheapest way to send money to Gaza from the UK?

For larger or repeated gifts, crypto. USDT or USDC sent on Ethereum cost about 3p and under 1p in network fees on two gifts the Al-Shanti family received in late October 2026, plus the exchange's own fees. For a single small gift, PayPal is simpler: there is no PayPal fee on a donation, and the pound to dollar conversion is included in the total PayPal shows before you pay.

How much is £50 worth in Gaza?

About $66 or 207 shekels at the 28 October 2026 rate. For the Al-Shanti family in Gaza City in late October 2026, that is most of a 1,000 litre water truck ($85, about £64) or a tin of infant formula ($56, about £42) with change. A sack of flour cost 800 shekels, about £193, after commercial trucks stopped entering Gaza on 14 October.

Sources and method

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