UK Muslim charity’s aid transfers to Gaza likely went to Hamas, internal memo shows

British Islamic charity under scrutiny after internal warnings Gaza aid likely reached Hamas.

By World Israel News Staff

A major British Islamic charity is facing renewed scrutiny after leaked internal documents reportedly showed senior officials feared that more than £350,000 in Gaza aid sent after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel may have ended up benefiting Hamas or other terrorist groups.

The concerns center on Penny Appeal, a UK-registered charity that claims to fund emergency relief, poverty programs and humanitarian projects overseas.

According to reports citing leaked documents and a whistleblower, the charity transferred more than £350,000 to Programmes for NGOs, known as P4NGOs, to help deliver food and humanitarian supplies into Gaza through the Rafah crossing after the outbreak of the war.

The Daily Mail reported that Penny Appeal officials privately warned the aid money had “very likely” reached Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

The concerns were raised in minutes from an emergency meeting held in April 2024, where senior figures discussed fears that local organizations involved in aid distribution could have been linked to Hamas or other armed groups in Gaza.

The reported warnings were sharpened by the charity’s inability to obtain full records identifying the final recipients of the aid.

Internal documents reportedly showed that Penny Appeal repeatedly requested beneficiary lists but did not receive them.

P4NGOs reportedly told Penny Appeal that it was not responsible for tracking the aid once it had entered Gaza.

Additional documents reviewed by British media reportedly indicated that some funds were spent inside northern Gaza on items including “media services,” raising further questions among charity officials about who ultimately benefited from the money.

P4NGOs has denied that any funds reached terrorist groups. Penny Appeal has said it carried out proper due diligence and received documentation showing that the money was used for humanitarian purposes.

The allegations come as Penny Appeal is already the subject of a Charity Commission compliance case.

Civil Society reported in July 2025 that the regulator had opened a second compliance case into the charity in five years after a whistleblower raised concerns about governance and financial practices. Penny Appeal denied the allegations reported at the time and said it had commissioned an independent review.

The Charity Commission previously closed a separate compliance case into Penny Appeal in June 2024 after issuing an official warning in 2023 over governance failures, including poor record keeping, management of conflicts of interest and oversight of a major supplier contract. At the time, the regulator said the charity had made progress but still had further work to do.