DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip – Using the tools of his newfound craft, Mohammad Al-Ashqar, a jeweler for decades, prepares for the first of around 200 complicated repairs he carries out every day. In his hand he holds neither gemstone nor gold, but a wafer-thin 20-shekel bill held together with adhesive tape.
He takes an X-Acto knife, carefully peels off the old tape, cleans the residue, and then applies clear glue to ensure the bill doesn't break when folded.
“It’s not easy,” says Al-Ashqar, 48, about his work as a money repairman in a shop in Deir al Balah. “But I got pretty good at it.”
In Deir al Balah, Mohammad al-Ashqar, a jeweler for decades, repairs worn-out Israeli shekels with simple tools such as glue and an X-Acto knife, with the goal of making them a usable currency again. The Palestinian territories use the shekel as their main currency.
(Bilal Shbair / For The Times)
More than a year after the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, cash is king. But destruction across the Palestinian territory, which has left few banks standing and made ATMs inaccessible, as well as Israel's blocking of money and coin transfers in and out of the enclave, also means cash is in short supply.
“People have been passing around the same bills for more than a year,” said Al-Ashqar, who was expelled from Gaza City. “Of course they're tattered and fragile.” Most merchants refuse to accept worn-out paper money, he explains, and coins fare little better. The most common 10 shekel coin is particularly susceptible to rust and wear, and sellers have become suspicious as there are rumors that many of the coins available in Gaza are counterfeits.
The result, says Al-Ashqar, is a further humiliation for Gazans: Even if you are lucky enough to find the item you want and have the money to afford it, you may still end up with it can't buy because there is no seller will take your cash.
Gaza, like other Palestinian territories, uses the shekel as its main currency, with some transactions conducted in US dollars or the Jordanian dinar. But since the militant Hamas group's attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the latest war, Israel has blocked the entry and exit of physical money from the enclave, Palestinian bank officials say.
In the city center of Deir al Balah, money brokers work with piles of cash. Most sellers or cashiers will not accept worn or damaged Israeli banknotes.
(Bilal Shbair / For The Times)
And it is simply not possible to rely on banks to recycle the banknote stock and put it back into circulation.
Before the war, according to financial experts, there were ten banks in Gaza with 56 branches and 90 ATMs. In July, the Norwegian Refugee Council said only 10% were still operational. The number of open branches now varies from very few to, according to a manager at the Bank of Palestine, just one.
Although branches in northern Gaza still had money in their vaults, Israeli troops had prevented people from returning to the area and, in any case, bulldozers would be needed to dig the vaults out of the rubble, said the bank official was not authorized to speak to the media.
Transporting cash in the enclave presents its own difficulties, whether due to hostilities between Hamas and the Israeli army, the presence of gangs and looters, or the lack of armored vehicles and the fuel to operate them.
COGAT, the Israel Defense Ministry agency responsible for affairs in the Palestinian territories, did not respond to questions about cash in Gaza.
Mohammad al-Ashqar, who took up work in Deir al Balah after fleeing Gaza City, often has a line of customers waiting for a cash repair when he opens his jewelry store.
(Bilal Shbair / For The Times)
The cash shortage has not only spawned money brokers like Al-Ashqar; A parallel money market has sprung up in Al Birka Square, a crowded marketplace in Deir al Balah, where people dart from broker to broker, trying to find the one who will cash their paychecks with the lowest commission.
“I have to hurry just to see part of my salary,” said Mohammad Al-Tawashi, a 49-year-old Palestinian Authority official. The bank branch nearby, he says, has iron bars on the doors and there are never any employees there; The ATM was destroyed by angry customers months ago.
“So I had to go to one of these seller funds – 28% commission, can you believe it?” said Al-Tawashi. For every 1,000 shekels he transferred to the broker, he received 720 shekels in cash.
“It's like I'm giving them a piece of my soul every month. That’s not life, it’s barely survival.”
Bassam Temraz, a 67-year-old retired social worker, felt the same way.
“It's brutal. “Some days I think I have to sell everything left in the house to have enough to feed my grandchildren and my wife,” he says.
“Every time I get my salary, I feel like I’ve worked for free.”
It is a lucrative business for the brokers.
“It's a way for anyone with cash to make money,” said Abdallah Al-Mzeiny, a 31-year-old former coffee seller who now works as a money broker and does business all day at a cafe in Al-Birka Square does Actionha.
There he meets customers who use the café's Wi-Fi to transfer their salary to him using a smartphone app and – depending on the day and the status of the invoices – pay them cash minus a 28% commission. Al-Mzeiny buys cash from local businessmen at a 24% markup. He makes about $100 a day, he says.
Al-Mzeiny understands his customers' frustration. He has more than 10,000 shekels worth more than $2,700 in 10-shekel coins that no one will accept for fear they are not real.
Although some people can use cashless banking via their smartphone, not everyone has access to the internet or the electricity to charge their phone. And given the destruction in Gaza, street vendors are unlikely to accept anything other than cash.
After Hamas's attack in southern Israel killed about 1,200 people and the militants kidnapped about 250 others, Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 44,500 people, destroyed much of the territory and displaced the vast majority, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry of the population.
Criminal gangs, a growing problem as the Hamas government struggles to maintain control, have taken advantage of this and are now entering the cash extortion business by taking control of ATMs and charging people fees for using them, said the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Israeli shekels lie on a table in the Actionha cafe in Deir al Balah, where money brokers have set up shop. Customers need to order a hot drink and a Wi-Fi ticket for almost $2.
(Bilal Shbair / For The Times)
Unwilling to pay the high commissions, either to money brokers or to gangs, some Gazans have resorted to bartering, whether in makeshift stalls on the street or through social media such as Facebook and the messaging app Telegram.
In a Facebook group, a user offers a can of peas in exchange for a fava bean; Another asks if anyone has a 5-pound chicken that they would exchange for half a carton of eggs and 50 shekels. Others sell whatever goods they have at home.
Many desperate people turn to Al-Ashqar, the money broker.
When he was expelled from Gaza City, he rented a shop in Deir al Balah to continue his jewelry work and do money repairs on the side. But word has gotten out, and now, as the day begins, a line of people is snaking out his door, hoping he can turn their bills from waste paper into usable money.
He trained his three assistants at the jewelry store to do the same job. Together they can carry out more than 400 repairs per day. Depending on the condition of the bill, he charges two to three shekels, the equivalent of 55-82 cents.
Al-Ashqar even started to enjoy the work, he says.
“I take a few notes into my tent to fix them and wake up early to do them,” he says, adding that it feels good to give people a little relief from the frustrations of daily life to help Gaza.
“A lot of people come back to thank me because I helped them fix their banknotes,” he said. It's a business, but he added, “It's become something of a hobby for me.”
Times special correspondent Shbair reported from Deir al Balah, Gaza, and Times staff writer Bulos reported from Beirut.