In a bustling Gaza City market, a money repairer expertly inspects a worn 100 shekel ($30.50; £23.10) note. He straightens it out and enhances its faded colour with careful strokes of a pencil.
Baraa Abu al-Aoun should have been studying at university but instead, he ekes out a living from a table he has set up at the roadside, taking a small sum to help keep cash in circulation.
Fixing banknotes is a thriving new business in Gaza. Ever since the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023 and the devastating war that ensued, Israel stopped transfers of banknotes, along with most other supplies.
Most banks were destroyed in Israeli strikes, and many were looted. While some branches have reopened since a ceasefire took effect seven weeks ago, there are still no working ATMs.
But people need cash to buy food and essentials. That has forced them to turn to informal money merchants who charge enormous commissions to turn digital transfers into cash. It has also sparked a huge increase in the use of e-wallets and money transfer apps.
As existing banknotes become invaluable, Baraa uses simple tools like rulers and coloured pencils to restore them, stating, My hope is to feel relief at last, so that I can study and work with a degree.
Mere survival has become the norm for many in Gaza, reflecting a broader economic collapse where four in five people are unemployed, and the ever-increasing reliance on cash repairs has become a lifeline amid financial despair.
