Can I Use My Zakat to Help People in Gaza?

If you’re wondering whether your Zakat can reach people in Gaza — the answer, across all four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, is yes. When a population is experiencing acute poverty, displacement, and food insecurity on the scale seen in Gaza, the conditions for Zakat eligibility are clearly met. Here’s what you need to know before you give.

Who Is Eligible to Receive Zakat?

The Quran (At-Tawbah 9:60) specifies eight categories of people who may receive Zakat. The most relevant for Gaza are:

• Al-Fuqara — those in severe poverty, with little or no income
• Al-Masakin — those in need, with insufficient means to meet basic necessities
• Ibn al-Sabil — the stranded traveller, or those displaced from their homes
• Al-Gharimin — those overwhelmed by debt with no means to repay it

Families in Gaza displaced by conflict, with no income and limited access to food and water, typically meet several of these categories at once.

Is It Permissible to Send Zakat to Gaza?

Scholars from the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafiʼi, and Hanbali schools all permit Zakat to be sent across borders, provided the recipients genuinely meet one of the eight eligible categories. On this point there is no scholarly dispute: where a population is experiencing catastrophic poverty and displacement, Zakat can and should reach them.

The conditions in Gaza are well-documented. As of 2025, more than 500,000 people were recorded at IPC Phase 5 — catastrophic famine — and the majority of the population was experiencing acute food insecurity. These are the conditions that Zakat was designed to address.

What matters is that your Zakat reaches people who are genuinely eligible, and that the organisation distributing it operates with transparency and in accordance with Sharia principles.

How Human Appeal Uses Your Zakat in Gaza

Human Appeal works in Gaza through emergency food distribution, clean water programs, and — during Dhul Hijjah — Qurbani distribution. Zakat funds go directly to the individuals and families who need it most: those with no income, no access to markets, and often no functioning infrastructure around them.

Human Appeal’s Qurbani program in Gaza reached over 11,000 shares in 2025, distributed as ready-to-eat meals specifically designed for families without cooking facilities or fuel. Zakat-funded food and clean water programs run throughout the year.

What Is the Difference Between Zakat and Sadaqah for Gaza?

Both Zakat and voluntary Sadaqah can benefit people in Gaza — but they work differently. Zakat must go directly to individuals who meet one of the eight Quranic categories. It cannot be used for general operational costs or infrastructure. Sadaqah is broader: it can fund anything that benefits people, including building programs, logistics, and capacity.

When you give Zakat through Human Appeal, your funds are ring-fenced and distributed only to eligible individuals. When you give Sadaqah, your gift supports the wider work of reaching those in need — including the infrastructure that makes distributions possible.

Giving Your Zakat Where It Reaches the Most People

If you want your Zakat to go specifically to Gaza, Human Appeal’s Gaza Emergency Fund directs your gift to people in active crisis. If you’d prefer your Zakat to reach wherever the need is greatest — whether Gaza, Sudan, Syria, or another crisis — the Where Most Needed option ensures your gift goes to Human Appeal’s highest-priority programs at the time of distribution.

Either way, your Zakat fulfils your religious obligation and reaches people who are genuinely eligible and genuinely in need.

Human Appeal’s programs in Gaza are Zakat-applicable, distributed in accordance with our scholar-reviewed Zakat Policy.

Sources

Quran, At-Tawbah 9:60 — the eight Quranic categories of Zakat recipients. Al-Kasani, Bada’i al-Sana’i (Hanafi); Ibn Rushd, Bidayat al-Mujtahid (Maliki); Al-Nawawi, Rawdah al-Talibin (Shafi‘i); Ibn Qudama, Al-Mughni (Hanbali) — on the transfer of Zakat across borders and eligibility conditions. Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Gaza Strip, 2025 — Phase 5 classification data.

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