Can You Send Money to Gaza via PayPal? Here Is What Actually Works.

People ask me this question all the time. Can PayPal even reach Gaza? Is it blocked? Will fees eat up my donation? Is it safe? I understand the confusion because the internet has a lot of conflicting information about this.

Let me clear it up. I am Mohammed Al-Shanti, an agricultural engineer living in Northern Gaza. I have been receiving PayPal donations through my verified campaign since 2023. Thousands of dollars have come through that button. Every transaction has worked. Here is what you need to know.

Does PayPal Actually Work in Gaza?

Yes. PayPal operates in Palestine and transactions to Palestinian accounts process normally. There is a common misconception that Gaza is entirely cut off from financial systems. Some services are indeed restricted, but PayPal for charitable donations has worked consistently throughout the conflict.

My donation button has been live since 2023. I have received donations from donors in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, and dozens of other countries. Not one of those transactions failed because of PayPal restrictions.

The button works. I know this because I used the money from last week's donations to buy water yesterday. That water is in my kitchen right now.

What About Fees?

This is where it gets a little technical but it matters, so bear with me for a moment.

PayPal normally charges fees on transactions. If you send money through a regular PayPal transfer, the recipient may pay 2.9% plus a small fixed fee. On a $50 donation, that could be around $1.50 to $2.00 coming off the top.

But there is a specific PayPal product called a Donations button, which operates under different terms. When a verified charitable or personal campaign uses the PayPal Donations product, the fee structure changes and in many cases the donation arrives in full with zero deduction.

The button on my website uses this setup. When you click it, you are using PayPal's donation flow, not a standard payment. The result is that 100% of what you send arrives to my account. I have verified this across hundreds of transactions over two years.

How to Do It: Step by Step

Here is the exact process from your end. It takes about three minutes.

1. Click the PayPal donate button on this site or click here directly.
2. You will land on a PayPal-hosted donation page. It shows the campaign name and a brief description.
3. Enter any amount. There is no minimum. Even $5 helps.
4. On the next screen, you can log into an existing PayPal account OR click the option to pay with a debit or credit card without creating an account.
5. Enter your card details, complete the payment, and you will receive a confirmation email immediately.
6. That is it. Within 24 to 48 hours, the money is in my account and I can use it to buy what we need.

What If You Do Not Have PayPal?

You do not need a PayPal account. This is a question I get often and the answer is simple. On the PayPal donation page, after you enter the amount, there is a link that says something like "Pay with Debit or Credit Card" or "Don't have a PayPal account?" — click that. You can complete the entire transaction with just your card number, expiry date, and CVV. No account required.

This works with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. It works from almost every country in the world.

What About Wire Transfers or Other Methods?

Some donors have asked about wire transfers, Western Union, or crypto. Here is my honest assessment of each.

Wire transfers to Palestinian bank accounts are theoretically possible but extremely difficult in practice right now. International wire transfers to Gaza involve correspondent banking restrictions that make the process slow, uncertain, and often subject to holds. I do not recommend trying this path.

Western Union has faced operational issues in Gaza throughout the conflict. Availability is inconsistent and in-person pickup locations are not reliably accessible. Not a dependable option.

GoGetFunding is the other method I actively use and recommend. It is a crowdfunding platform that independently verifies campaigns. They charge a small processing fee (around 2.9%) but provide donors with an extra layer of reassurance since the platform has reviewed my identity and campaign history. You can find my campaign at goget.fund/3VfYThz.

For most donors, PayPal is the best option — fastest, most reliable, and zero fees with the donation button.

Is It Legal for Me to Send Money to Gaza?

This is an important question and the honest answer is: for the vast majority of donors in Western countries, yes, it is legal. Donating to a verified individual for humanitarian purposes is not restricted under standard financial regulations in the US, UK, EU, Canada, or Australia.

The restrictions that exist around financial transfers to conflict zones primarily target organizations or entities associated with sanctioned groups. A personal humanitarian donation to a verified Palestinian family is not in that category.

If you have specific concerns about the regulations in your country, I would recommend checking with your country's financial regulator or a legal advisor. But for most people reading this, the answer is simply yes, it is legal and your transaction will complete without any issue.

How Do I Know My Money Was Actually Received?

PayPal sends you a confirmation email with a transaction ID immediately after you donate. That is your proof of payment.

On my end, I post regular updates on GoGetFunding whenever I use donated funds. I photograph the receipts. I post photos of what was purchased. If you want to follow the campaign and see where your money went, you can do that at any time.

I also update this website with diary entries when significant things happen — when the water truck finally came after four days of waiting, when flour prices dropped slightly, when Ibrahim asked me when he could go back to school. These are real updates from a real family. They are my accountability to you.

A Personal Note

I know that sending money to Gaza can feel uncertain. You cannot see where it goes. You are trusting a stranger. I understand that, and I respect it.

That is exactly why I built this website with a full verification page showing my government ID, my videos from Northern Gaza, and my expense receipts. I want you to check. I want you to be skeptical. And then I want you to see that everything I say is true, and I want you to help my family.

My daughter is three months old. She was born into this war. She has never known a Gaza that was not under siege. Your donation does not fix that. But it keeps her fed, clean, and sheltered for another few weeks. That is not nothing. That is everything to me.