Several financial institutions fear that the money will reach terrorist organizations and are legally obligated to prevent this
A Palestinian woman cooks in Jabalya this week. Volunteers say that despite accusations on social media, all donated funds reach their intended recipients and do not support terrorist organizations. Credit: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
A Palestinian woman cooks in Jabalya this week. Volunteers say that despite accusations on social media, all donated funds reach their intended recipients and do not support terrorist organizations. Credit: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
January 05, 2026
More than a million people in the Gaza Strip are still living in tents, struggling to survive the winter rains and cold. In response, Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel have tried to assist Gaza residents, only to discover that doing so is extraordinarily difficult. Credit card companies and banks in Israel and around the world are blocking attempts to transfer funds to Gaza, even when the donations are small and sent directly to individual families.
In many cases, transfers via payment apps or crowdfunding platforms fail outright. Israeli and international banks cite fears that the funds could reach terrorist organizations and say they are legally obligated to block such transactions. As donors attempt to circumvent these restrictions to provide humanitarian aid, some have begun using cryptocurrencies – despite their association with illicit activity and money laundering.
At the beginning of the war, Gaza was effectively designated a "hostile territory" by the Israeli banking system and parts of the international financial system. As a result, direct transfers between bank accounts in Israel and Gaza became impossible. During the first months of the war, a common workaround involved using banks in the West Bank: donors would transfer small sums to trusted, vetted contacts there, in an effort to avoid suspicion of financing Hamas.
![Sunset over Gaza City this week. Activists say transfers are often blocked if the word "Gaza" appears in a project's title or description.](https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019b-88f6-dbc2-a3df-8af7b6080000/ea/63/fa17b3f24b64aaeeaf89507974f2/247898.jpg?&width=420&height=281&cmsprod "Sunset over Gaza City this week. Activists say transfers are often blocked if the word "Gaza" appears in a project's title or description. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP")
![Sunset over Gaza City this week. Activists say transfers are often blocked if the word "Gaza" appears in a project's title or description.](https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019b-88f6-dbc2-a3df-8af7b6080000/ea/63/fa17b3f24b64aaeeaf89507974f2/247898.jpg?&width=420&height=281&cmsprod "Sunset over Gaza City this week. Activists say transfers are often blocked if the word "Gaza" appears in a project's title or description. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP")
Sunset over Gaza City this week. Activists say transfers are often blocked if the word "Gaza" appears in a project's title or description. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
Sunset over Gaza City this week. Activists say transfers are often blocked if the word "Gaza" appears in a project's title or description. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
However, Israelis who were in direct contact with Gazans soon discovered that this method came at a steep cost: Recipients were often forced to pay fees of up to 50 percent to banks or money brokers in order to access the funds. This was due to the collapse of Gaza's banking system and a severe shortage of cash – the only practical means of payment during the war.
Another approach involved transferring funds through foreign bank accounts. Adva Barkai-Ronayne, an Israeli veterinarian living in Canada, became a central figure in a network of Israeli volunteers, both in Israel and abroad, who help dozens of families in Gaza.
"At first, we used our personal accounts, but it quickly became clear how problematic that was – it looked like a textbook case of money laundering," Barkai-Ronayne said. "So we set up a nonprofit in Canada to receive donations and transfer them to the families we're helping. We keep screenshots of every donor so we know exactly who the money is coming from."
Even so, she said, Canadian banks made things difficult. "They're extremely strict," she explained. "For example, they demanded the full address of families in Gaza – but these are people living in tents. Their homes were destroyed long ago. It was a huge headache, but we eventually developed a workable system. Today, it usually takes about a week for the money to go through."
Currently, around 60 aid networks operate through the Canadian nonprofit, with each network typically assisting a single family. Despite accusations and smears circulating on social media, the volunteers insist that all funds reach their intended recipients and do not support terrorist organizations. They stress that assistance is provided only to families with whom they maintain ongoing contact, and recipients are required to supply proof of receipt as well as documentation of purchases such as food or clothing.
Beyond direct family assistance, the nonprofit also runs targeted campaigns, including initiatives to purchase tents and winter supplies, and to support al-Anwar, an independent displacement camp near Khan Yunis.
Israelis attempting to donate through these international frameworks often encounter obstacles from credit card companies – particularly Isracard – which sometimes refuse to approve transactions. Donors typically receive notifications stating that the transfer was canceled due to being "a prohibited action according to company policy," although the funds are sent first to foreign accounts and only later to Gaza. Activists report that if the word "Gaza" appears in a project's title or description, the transaction is likely to be blocked.
Talia Levin, an Israeli living in Portugal and a volunteer in the network, spends much of her time trying to break this financial siege on Gaza. "At first, transferring money from my account in Portugal to the Bank of Palestine was easy," she said. "Then suddenly the transfers started bouncing back. When I went to the bank, they told me it was out of their hands – apparently some German bank had flagged the transaction."
![A tent city in Deir al-Balah in December. "Banks demand the full address of families in Gaza – but these are people living in tents. Their homes were destroyed long ago."](https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019b-88f6-dbc2-a3df-8af7b6cb0001/b5/55/9123e0a14dbdbbd543b254a3f980/106596.jpg?&width=420&height=281&cmsprod "A tent city in Deir al-Balah in December. "Banks demand the full address of families in Gaza – but these are people living in tents. Their homes were destroyed long ago.". Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP")
![A tent city in Deir al-Balah in December. "Banks demand the full address of families in Gaza – but these are people living in tents. Their homes were destroyed long ago."](https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019b-88f6-dbc2-a3df-8af7b6cb0001/b5/55/9123e0a14dbdbbd543b254a3f980/106596.jpg?&width=420&height=281&cmsprod "A tent city in Deir al-Balah in December. "Banks demand the full address of families in Gaza – but these are people living in tents. Their homes were destroyed long ago.". Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP")
A tent city in Deir al-Balah in December. "Banks demand the full address of families in Gaza – but these are people living in tents. Their homes were destroyed long ago." Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
A tent city in Deir al-Balah in December. "Banks demand the full address of families in Gaza – but these are people living in tents. Their homes were destroyed long ago." Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
Volunteers have also discovered that even when funds reach the intended account, the difficulties don't end there. One father in Gaza, who had been in regular contact with the volunteers, reported that his bank froze his account because money had arrived from Canada. "This is a man who has been a peace activist for 20 years," Levin said. "He, his wife, and their children have been living in a tent for three winters. They lost everything. He once had a beautiful Arabian horse and chickens. On the day they fled their home, he poured out all the chicken feed and left it behind."
According to Levin, the man was forced to travel to the only functioning branch of his bank in southern Gaza and arrive at 1 a.m. to stand in line in order to release his funds.
Faced with these barriers, volunteers developed a new method for transferring aid: cryptocurrency apps. "I send the money, and within a second they get it," one volunteer said. "At first, money brokers charged extremely high fees to convert it into cash. Now, though, it's possible to open a kind of local 'PayPal' account, where the money can be received and used directly."
Like many others involved, Levin says it is difficult for Israelis around her to accept what she is doing. "They're good people, but they're brainwashed – unable to see anything beyond ourselves," she said. Barkai-Ronayne echoed this sentiment: "No one is building a luxury villa with these donations. These are sums that barely keep people afloat; enough for food, clothing and a place to stay. Just so they don't starve. We're helping a mother whose cancer has spread to her bones. She has a baby and lives in constant, unbearable pain. We send her money so she can buy ibuprofen or paracetamol."
Palestinians take sacks of flour from an aid truck in central Gaza in November. A father said his bank froze his account after funds arrived from Canada. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
Palestinians take sacks of flour from an aid truck in central Gaza in November. A father said his bank froze his account after funds arrived from Canada. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
Another aid network is run by social activists from Israel's Arab community, who requested anonymity out of fear of interrogation by the Shin Bet or accusations of aiding terrorism. This network follows strict rules: funds are transferred only to women in Gaza, recipients must present identification, men are not involved, and only small amounts are sent – enough to support a single family. According to one activist, many of their donors are Jewish, both in Israel and abroad.
Established humanitarian organizations have faced similar challenges. Physicians for Human Rights, one of Israel's largest humanitarian NGOs, attempted at the start of the war to purchase medical supplies in Egypt for Gaza hospitals and transport them through the Rafah crossing, which was still open at the time.
"Bank Hapoalim blocked the transfer, and a month later threatened to freeze our account," recounted Lee Caspi, the organization's Director of Resource Development. "They eventually backed off the freeze, but they still refuse to approve any transaction connected to Gaza. They demanded authorization from the army. We were in contact with COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), which said there was no obstacle to bringing in aid – but they wouldn't provide us with a letter [of confirmation]."
Palestinians in a tent camp in Gaza City this week. Gazans say they were forced to pay commissions of up to 50 percent to banks or money brokers to access funds in cash. Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP
Palestinians in a tent camp in Gaza City this week. Gazans say they were forced to pay commissions of up to 50 percent to banks or money brokers to access funds in cash. Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP
Further difficulties arose in January of last year, when the organization transferred 5,000 shekels to a nonprofit in Qalqilyah to fund a prosthetic leg for a wounded Palestinian. Afterward, it emerged that the organization had been blacklisted by the Ministry of Defense some 20 years earlier due to ties to terrorist groups. Once again, the bank threatened to freeze the account and allowed it to operate only under a court order.
Attempts to open an account at another bank were unsuccessful. "It appears we've been flagged across the entire system," Caspi said. "In June, we also received a letter from the Registrar of Associations informing us that an investigation had been opened against us."
The organization is now pursuing two lawsuits against Bank Hapoalim, demanding the right to continue providing aid to Gaza residents without risking account freezes. In response, the bank stated that it is acting in accordance with the law: "This is not a role banks have taken upon themselves or from which they derive profit, but an administrative obligation imposed by law."
Isracard issued a similar response, stating: "In accordance with the norms of the Israeli financial system, we do not allow money transfers to Gaza, which is defined as a hostile territory. This policy exists due to the inability to ensure that funds will not be used to finance terrorist activity and is part of our obligations under risk management, anti-money laundering, counterterrorism financing regulations, and for protection purposes."
