A woman raised more than $13,000 on GoFundMe for her husband to escape war-torn Gaza — before the United States charged him with helping Hamas start the conflict.
Palestinian man Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al Muhtadi faces terrorism charges after his arrest last year in Louisiana for allegedly invading Israel to assist in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. A newly unsealed August indictment charges his wife with helping him fraudulently obtain a U.S. visa while also referencing her plea for support on GoFundMe, which is now deleted from the platform.
The GoFundMe post came with pictures of their family and children and portrayed al Muhtadi as a victim of war. The Department of Justice now accuses the couple of a deceptive scheme that allegedly slipped past the Biden administration and GoFundMe’s vetting systems.
“With the assistance of the U.S. Embassy, my children and I managed to leave Gaza, but my husband [is] still stuck there,” the woman, Nieama al Ghazzawi, said on the archived donation page. “Our journey to safety is hindered by the escalating costs of visas, airfare, and the daily increasing fees for departing through the Rafah Crossing. Leaving Mahmoud behind is an unthinkable choice, but financial barriers loom large.”
“I can’t leave my husband in a war zone and proceed alone,” she wrote. “I want to help bring my husband with us and reunite our family.”
GoFundMe and an attorney for al Ghazzawi did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment. GoFundMe’s policies prohibit fundraising for “any activity in support of terrorism, terrorist financing, [or] extremist financing.”
From Gaza to a US jail
Al Muhtadi heard news of Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion that morning, armed himself, gathered supporters, and crossed Israel’s besieged border while armed with the intent to participate, the DOJ claims. He is charged with conspiracy and material support for terrorism, visa fraud, and false statements concealing his extremist background from the State Department. The DOJ accuses al Ghazzawi, a U.S. citizen, of knowingly parroting his false refugee narrative to the U.S. government.
Al Ghazzawi emailed GoFundMe about setting up her husband’s fundraiser for a visa and airfare in January 2024, prosecutors said. He traveled from Gaza to Egypt, landed at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas the following September, and later resided in Louisiana with his wife, court documents claim. Israel alerted U.S. authorities to his alleged terrorist ties in May 2025, leading to his arrest months later.
The 2023 attacks killed hundreds of Israelis and 46 American citizens, plus more Israelis and Americans who died in captivity after the group kidnapped them that day. Cellphone tracking data from the invasion showed al Muhtadi near an Israeli kibbutz where terrorists killed four Americans and others, including children, and burned homes, prosecutors alleged.
The DOJ also released call logs that allegedly show al Muhtadi and his partners joking about the bloodshed unfolding.
“From now till the afternoon half of Gaza will be lost,” al Muhtadi allegedly told comrades in Arabic. “There will be nothing left except my kiosk!”
“Yes, by God. The Jews are still in shock!” a partner replied, according to the logs.
“Ah, they still haven’t awakened from the shock,” al Muhtadi is quoted as saying. “They are still drunk, because it’s the last day of their [holiday],” he allegedly said with laughter.
Al Muhtadi belonged to a Palestinian militant faction called the National Resistance Brigade and posted photos of armed men in the group’s signature red uniforms in 2020, referring to them as “my guys,” according to court records.
The Gaza man’s case should be dismissed because his team cannot access enough evidence to present a courtroom defense related to overseas events, his attorney argued in a Sept. 23 motion. The DOJ intends to call Israeli government witnesses for prosecutors, court records show.
“Mr. Al-Muhtadi does not dispute the government’s authority to charge these offenses in this District,” the attorney told the court. “He disputes that a trial on them can be conducted consistently with the Constitution. The government has chosen to prosecute conduct alleged to have occurred during one morning in Gaza, on evidence gathered there by a foreign military and records it concedes it can neither produce nor obtain.”
Jihadis exploit charity platforms
A month after the Israel-Hamas war broke out, the FBI warned the public about “charity scams” that might exploit the conflict under the guise of fundraising for humanitarian purposes. The statement came after the December 2022 arrest of defendants for using GoFundMe and other platforms to fund the Islamic State group, which later led to convictions.
“Foreign terrorist organizations often establish fake charities using social media platforms to misdirect unwitting donors to subsidize their operations,” the bureau’s statement said. “Solicitations are then coordinated via social media posts, e-mail, cold calls, or crowdfunding website requests.”
The FBI encouraged people to “thoroughly research” whoever they may donate to, among other precautions.
EL SAYED TOUTS ENDORSEMENT FROM LOBBYISTS TIED TO TERRORIST FINANCING: ‘DEEPLY GRATEFUL’
GoFundMe released guidance in March on “how to fundraise to evacuate civilians from Gaza,” emphasizing that “support for armed conflict” is prohibited. Applicants are required to disclose their identities, where they are from, the names of groups and individuals they intend to fund, their relationship with them, and how the money will be used, the instructions say.
“Please know our global Trust & Safety team is working 24/7 to review each fundraiser related to this crisis, to protect your generosity, and provide support as quickly & safely as possible,” GoFundMe said. “We are committed to empowering people to help each other wherever we can.”