Well-known Gazan influencer Saleh al-Jafrawi has launched a fundraising campaign to rebuild Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, but the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah denies any connection to him. Now Arab are accusing him of stealing millions of dollars and transferring them to Hamas.
The Gazan influencer, Saleh Al-Jafrawi, is known in Israel for his celebrations immediately after the start of the Hamas attack on October 7, and then became a meme when he started crying from the IDF bombings in Gaza. Al-Jafrawi has continued to post content depicting the victims on the Gazan side since the beginning of the war, but has become an online joke following the segments in which he disguised himself as a wounded man, a doctor, a journalist, and more. In fact, Al-Jafrawi has “earned” a special nickname on social media among Israel supporters, Mr FAFO (an acronym for Fuck Around and Find Out). This week, Meta decided to block Al-Jafrawi’s Instagram account, but several additional pages have since been opened in his name.
Now Al-Jafrawi is once again in trouble following a crowdfunding campaign that is supposed to help the children of Gaza. The campaign included a live broadcast in which they tried to raise $10 million for the reconstruction of the Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital in the Gaza Strip. According to Al Al Jazeera, the influencer has already raised almost half of the amount in the 48 hours he has been on the air.
The influencer was interviewed by Al Jazeera and promised: “This campaign is 100% credible and is in full coordination and cooperation between the Kuwaiti Aid Organization, which belongs to the Ministry of Social Affairs in Kuwait, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza and Ramallah.” But here the story gets complicated.
الحرامي صالح الجعفراوي جمع أكثر من 4 ملايين دولار، ونفت وزارة الصحة الرسمية لدولة فلسطين جمع التبرعات باسمها.
قلتلكم من قبل إنه وزارة الصحة اللي نزلت مع الحرامي صالح الجعفراوي تابعة لحما$ وليست تابعة لمؤسسات الدولة الفلسطينية.
يعني يا عزيزي المتبرع، فلوسك راحت أونطا.
أبـ ـلع🌷 pic.twitter.com/XyL552p4pn— مصطفـ𓂆ـى عصفــور (@ustafa_ad) March 11, 2025
Palestinian activist Mustafa Asfour claimed on his personal account on X (formerly Twitter) that Al-Jafrawi is a thief and a swindler who takes the money for himself, writing: “The thief Saleh Al-Jafrawi collected more than $4 million, and the official Palestinian Ministry of Health denied collecting donations in his name. I told you that the Ministry of Health invented by the thief Saleh Al-Jafrawi is linked to Hamas and not to the institutions of the Palestinian state. So, dear donor, your money is gone.”
As proof, he posted a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah claiming that it is not responsible for any fundraising campaigns for the Gaza Strip, and that it is not a partner in any donations or fundraising campaigns carried out by some activists on social media. The ministry even warned against using its name or logo for fundraising campaigns by any entity, on any media platform or personal or other website.
The ministry’s announcement caused great anger among Palestinian society, with some agreeing with Asfour and his claims against Al-Jafrawi. One tweeter wrote: “Saleh Al-Jafrawi did not donate several million dollars to a hospital, and you will probably find him in Egypt starting a project and telling you that he lives on his money. Saleh’s mother is in Egypt, along with two of his family members.”
صالح الجعفراوي لم ايشي كام مليون دولار تبرعات علي حس مستشفي و غالبا هتلاقيه في مصر فاتح مشروع و يقولك عايشين بمصارينا
والدة صالح في مصر هيا و فردين من أسرته
القضية بتكسب و الله 🤦🏽 pic.twitter.com/V4szVEy2oZ— 7rbyforever (@7rbyforever) March 12, 2025
Another tweeter noted that even though this was the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah and not a statement from the Kuwaiti government, these actions must stop. Another user wrote: “Those responsible for this campaign are the hired internet star Saleh Al-Jafrawi, the Kuwaiti company, and the Ministry of Health. Saleh Al-Jafrawi is a beggar accused of stealing and embezzling millions of dollars. Kuwait was accused a year ago of stealing victims’ money in partnership with the beggar Al-Jafrawi.”
وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية في رام الله قامت بنفي ان يكون لها اي صلة بهذه الحملة في بيان رسمي ..
صالح الجعفراوي الحرامي مع وكيل وزارة الصحة الحمساوي بغزة ، مع جمعية الكويت الخيرية بيلمو فلوس ب اسم وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية ..
دولة الكويت دولة محترمة لكن هذه التصرفات يجب ان تتوقف .. pic.twitter.com/IZ50pQ3EYn— Abo Lafi (@kakalafi) March 12, 2025
This is not the first time Al-Jafrawi has tried to raise money, in fact, he opened a crowdfunding page more than a year ago in which he asked the world to donate to help him rebuild his home and family. The goal at the time was $300,000, and he raised more than $315,000. He later opened another crowdfunding page, this time as “Sympathy with the Children of Gaza” on a website called donorbox. This time, he managed to raise almost $650,000 out of the $750000 he tried to raise.
It is important to note that it is difficult to know where the money went, and the campaign is still ongoing. Even if the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah disowned it, that does not mean that the Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza is not involved in it, but unfortunately we already know that the terrorist organization is cutting the coupon at the expense of the citizens of Gaza, so it is not certain whether it is better for the money to go through Hamas or to end up in Al-Jafrawi’s private pocket – what is certain is that those in the network are not really happy about it.