DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Cash is the lifeblood of the Gaza Strip's shattered economy, and like all other necessities in this war-torn territory — food, fuel, medicine — it is in extremely short supply.
With nearly every bank branch and ATM inoperable, people have become reliant on an unrestrained network of powerful cash brokers to get money for daily expenses — and commissions on those transactions have soared to about 40%.
''The people are crying blood because of this,'' said Ayman al-Dahdouh, a school director living in Gaza City. ''It's suffocating us, starving us.''
At a time of surging inflation, high unemployment and dwindling savings, the scarcity of cash has magnified the financial squeeze on families — some of whom have begun to sell their possessions to buy essential goods.
The cash that is available has even lost some of its luster. Palestinians use the Israeli currency, the shekel, for most transactions. Yet with Israel no longer resupplying the territory with newly printed bank notes, merchants are increasingly reluctant to accept frayed bills.
Gaza's punishing cash crunch has several root causes, experts say.
To curtail Hamas' ability to purchase weapons and pay its fighters, Israel stopped allowing cash to enter Gaza at the start of the war. Around the same time, many wealthy families in Gaza withdrew their money from banks and then fled the territory. And rising fears about Gaza's financial system prompted foreign businesses selling goods into the territory to demand cash payments.
As Gaza's money supply dwindled and civilians' desperation mounted, cash brokers' commissions — around 5% at the start of the war — skyrocketed.