Banks in Gaza reopen but no cash - Palestinians' worried lives

Banks are open, but there is no cash

The Gaza Strip has enjoyed relative calm after months of intense airstrikes and blockade - but life for the local population remains dramatic. According to Reuters, as soon as banks reopened, people lined up in the hope of getting cash - but instead faced severe shortages.

In the city of Nusairat, people complain that banks accept documents, but there is little or no money being issued. «There is no cash, no liquidity in the bank,» says 61-year-old Wael Abu Fares, Father of six children.

How it affects everyday life

In Gaza, cash is vital for market purchases, utility bills and simply survival. Due to the blockade of cash tanks by the COGAT (the Israeli military body that controls aid flows), the movement of the banknotes was blocked.

An economist from Gaza, Mohammad Abu Jayyab, said: «Banks are open, air conditioning is working, but it's mostly electronic transactions - no deposits, no cash withdrawals.».

High commissions - cash through “intermediaries”

Due to the lack of money in banks, people are forced to turn to local intermediary traders who charge a commission of 20 % to 40 % for providing cash.

Iman al-Jabari, a mother of seven, describes her experience as follows: «We need to spend two or three days, going back and forth, wasting your life standing in line. And in the end, you get only 400-500 shekels (about $123-153). What is that for today?»

Torn banknotes and barter as the new normal

In addition to the shortage of money, most banknotes are so worn that they have to be repaired by hand. For example, Manal al-Saidi, 40, repairs damaged banknotes to get at least some opportunity to buy bread or beans.

In many cases, people are turning to exchange or barter - many have lost their families, jobs, homes, spent their savings, sold their property to buy food or medicine. Cash shortages are only exacerbating the crisis.

What's next?

It is unclear when, or if, the normal flow of cash into the Gaza Strip will resume: a request to COGAT went unanswered.

So far, the population is actually surviving in a financial collapse - banks are open but functioning only nominally; there is no money and prices are rising. In this context, the ceasefire only brings a reduction in shelling - but not relief from economic hardship.