From the Liveblog of
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Footage apparently shows Hamas members beating merchants who refused to accept cash
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent
Social media accounts affiliated with Hamas publish footage showing men identified as Hamas members beating a number of people in Gaza with clubs, apparently vendors who were not accepting cash payments.
According to the accounts, the victims were merchants in Khan Younis who had refused to accept the currency, amid a growing crisis in the Gaza economy for a number of months as banks remain closed and the condition of physical money deteriorates.
Hamas is apparently attempting to keep the economy moving by insisting that vendors accept cash, no matter the condition, rather than use bartering or other arrangements.
On September 1, Hamas’s Khan Younis police issued a statement instructing merchants to accept all types of banknotes and coins, whether new or worn, so long as they are not counterfeit.
אנשי חמאס מכים סוחרים בחאן יונס שסירבו להתנהל במזומן – תיעוד שפורסם בחשבונות ברשתות שמזוהים עם חמאס כדי להראות שליטה בשטח. בעזה יש כבר חודשים ארוכים משבר מזומנים, בגלל שחיקה של שטרות ומטבעות ואי החלפתם בגלל שהבנקים סגורים. השבוע פרסמה משטרת חמאס בחאן יונס הוראה לסוחרים לקבל את כל… pic.twitter.com/y0qCQSyXrZ
— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) September 4, 2025
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