Since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023, a severe cash crisis has become one of the most pressing challenges for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Monetary Authority, Gaza had 56 bank branches and 91 ATMs before the conflict. However, ongoing Israeli bombardment has destroyed most of these facilities. In addition, widespread power outages and the collapse of internet services have brought banking operations to a halt, preventing the reopening of branches and the restoration of ATMs, leaving the financial system immobilized.

Due to this, many in Gaza have faced significant difficulties accessing the funds in their accounts, whether those funds are monthly salaries or financial support from relatives and friends abroad. For instance, my father works for the Palestinian Authority, and his salary has been deposited into his bank account each month. However, for the past 18 months, he has not been able to withdraw his salary. Initially, we relied on our savings to cover necessities such as food, clothes, blankets and transportation costs during evacuations, which amounted to $100 for a donkey cart and $200 for vehicles.

We have been forced to evacuate multiple times due to heavy bombardment, and each time, the fear and overwhelming focus on survival prevented us from taking many essential items, forcing us to buy them again at inflated prices. My father believed our savings would be sufficient, never expecting the war to drag on for so long. However, our $6,000 savings were depleted within the first six months of the war. We ran out of money and had no choice but to turn to what people in Gaza call “brokers” to access the funds in my father’s bank account.

These brokers have capitalized on people’s desperate need for cash, charging commissions as high as 30 percent on withdrawals. The process works like this: You transfer money via smartphone banking apps to the broker’s bank account, and in return, they give you cash — but significantly less than what you sent. For example, if you transfer $100, you receive only $70.

Despite the outrageous fees, we are forced to rely on this method as it’s the only option left. Many of us walk long distances in search of brokers, hoping to find one who charges a slightly lower commission, and most of the time, we end up standing in long, desperate lines, trying to get this cash — we are fighting a battle for survival amid soaring food prices and widespread starvation.

Sometimes, the money we receive from those brokers is worn out due to continuous circulation. We’ve been using the same banknotes for over a year, as Israel’s restrictions prevent the entry of new currency and the replacement of damaged bills. At times, when we try to make purchases, vendors refuse to accept these notes, explaining that the traders they source their goods from do not take worn-out money, as they want the cash to last as long as possible.

Moreover, vendors have become increasingly suspicious when accepting banknotes from shoppers. They inspect the notes multiple times, flipping them upside down, and sometimes even consult others before deciding whether to accept them.

This growing caution stems from circulating rumors that many of the available notes in Gaza are counterfeit. Vendors we’ve encountered have even canceled all transactions involving the 10-shekel coin, the most common coin, saying that its engraving has started to wear off due to rust and wear, making it unrecognizable.

The crisis of worn-out money has deepened our suffering. We pay exorbitant commissions to access cash, only to find that much of it is tattered and fragile, rendering it useless for purchasing the essentials we so desperately need. Furthermore, most brokers make it clear from the start that once the money is handed over, it cannot be returned — even if no one accepts it.

The rise of this crisis has opened unexpected job opportunities for many, leading people to set up makeshift stalls offering services like repairing worn-out and torn banknotes. One such person is Abu Khalad, who lost his job as a builder due to the war. Now, he works as a money repairer. Every day, he heads to al-Sahaba Street in the heart of Gaza City, a vibrant area filled with street vendors and passersby.

Khalad says he repairs more than a hundred notes each day. To fix the torn ones, he uses transparent tape and glue, and cleans the musty, dirty notes with an eraser or isopropyl alcohol. The commission he takes depends on the condition of the note, ranging from 1 shekel (approximately $0.30 USD) to 5 shekels (approximately $1.50 USD) for more severely damaged notes.

Khalad admits that the work was challenging at first, as it requires meticulous care and focus. However, over time, he has become quite skilled at it. He has helped many people, including my father, repair some of their notes, enabling them to use them in the market.

As the cash shortage worsens with each passing day, some people have turned to bartering to meet their basic needs. They exchange goods such as a bag of rice for a bag of flour, or two cans of luncheon meat for a kilo of lentils, and so on.

Some even settle their debts this way. One of my relatives, for instance, owed someone around $200 and paid it back with a bicycle. People have started creating Facebook pages for this purpose — I remember coming across one called “Gaza First Bartering Market” while scrolling through Facebook, where people post their bartering offers and connect with each other.

However, this situation cannot continue indefinitely. The urgency of finding a solution to this cash crisis has never been greater. We are enduring unimaginable hardships, and while bartering provides a temporary lifeline for some, it is not a sustainable solution.

On top of that, we are subjected to exploitation by brokers, losing a significant portion of our money for nothing. We need immediate access to cash, the reopening of bank branches and the lifting of currency restrictions. The war must end, and normal banking operations must be restored so that we can regain our financial autonomy and dignity.

The longer this crisis persists, the deeper the suffering will become. Immediate action is needed to restore basic financial services, as this is a critical step toward alleviating suffering and offering hope for a future of stability and peace.