'Where to donate to Gaza' tops 'donate to' Google searches in the US

Google searches for 'donate to Gaza' have dramatically jumped since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, specifically in the US, as searches for other aid organizations have also increased.

 Palestinians gather to receive aid outside an UNRWA warehouse as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City March 18, 2024. (photo credit: MAHMOUD ESSA/REUTERS)
Palestinians gather to receive aid outside an UNRWA warehouse as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City March 18, 2024.
(photo credit: MAHMOUD ESSA/REUTERS)

"Where to donate to Gaza" has been the top trending “donate to” search in the past 30 days, according to Google Trends on Tuesday.

The state with the highest search rate for this question was New Hampshire, with a substantial search rate; afterward came Virginia, with a slight increase, and then South Dakota, with a tiny increase.

Other related searches have been for UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Israel, UNWRA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), and "Where to donate for Palestine?"

Earlier this month, UNRWA sacked the staff accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attacks, saying at the time that the Israeli allegations - if true - were a betrayal of UN values and of the people UNRWA serves.

States set to resume funding to the controversial UN organization 

Many countries that paused funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency are likely having second thoughts and payments could resume soon, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Wednesday.

 Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide speaks during a press conference, in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen)
Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide speaks during a press conference, in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen)

Several countries, including the United States and Britain, paused their funding to UNRWA after accusations by Israel that a dozen of its 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Norway, a top donor to UNRWA, has maintained its funding and transferred 275 million crowns ($26 million) in February, its regular annual contribution, and said more could come. It is also lobbying countries that have paused funding to resume.

"I think that a large number of those countries who suspended are (having) second thoughts," Barth Eide told Reuters in an interview, citing the recognition from these nations that "they cannot punish the whole Palestinian society."