In brief
As the Gaza Strip grapples with a severe cash crisis due to extensive destruction and lack of banking operations, money repairers like Baraa Abu al-Aoun have emerged as vital players in the economy. With minimal tools, they repair damaged banknotes, helping to keep essential cash flowing in a region where the financial landscape has dramatically changed. Amid the ongoing conflict and escalating poverty, this informal industry highlights the struggles and resilience of the people in Gaza.
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.
And it means that every existing banknote matters more than ever - no matter how tattered. That's where Baraa comes in. My tools are simple: a ruler, pencils, coloured pencils and glue, he says.
The ceasefire hasn't changed the financial situation. What I do now is to serve people and help them.
Gaza's economic collapse has been so catastrophic during two years of intense war that a new UN report says its entire population of more than two million has been pushed into poverty.
Four in five people are now unemployed according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), and even those who still have an income or savings struggle to access cash.
It's pure suffering and nothing else, says Numan Rayhan, who is displaced in Gaza City from Jabalia in northern Gaza with few belongings. Shortage of income, shortage of money, no cash flow from the banks.
Early in the war, Israeli strikes targeted banks, which Israeli officials alleged were linked to Hamas. Their vaults were looted by armed Palestinian gangs, some presumed to have been Hamas. The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) has previously said that cash worth about $180m (£136m) was stolen.
Cogat, the Israeli defence body which controls Gaza's border crossings, confirmed that in line with a political order and due to Hamas's reliance on cash to maintain its military activity, Israel has not been allowing cash to enter Gaza.
The lack of cash circulating has caused problems for both sellers and buyers, says Zakaria Ajour, a stall-holder at another market in Gaza City. People don't want to accept worn and delicate notes at face value any more, if there are even small scratches or pieces of tape on a note.
Now, there are long lines outside the Bank of Palestine in Gaza City, one of nine branches of five banks that have reopened. Customers can only reactivate frozen accounts, open new ones, or sign on to banking apps.
E-wallets are now prevalent, allowing users to make direct purchases and financial transactions without needing cash. Humanitarian agencies are using these platforms to deliver aid directly to families in need, offering an innovative solution amid the cash crisis.
Amid this turmoil, Baraa Abu al-Aoun works diligently, hoping for a return to normalcy and a stable opportunity for the future as he repairs the banknotes in demand.
