As Gaza faces the immense task of reconstruction after widespread destruction, a new report from Palladium's team argues that rebuilding the financial sector is not a technical afterthought but a foundational requirement for recovery. Without functioning banks, payment systems, and access to liquidity, the report warns, aid delivery, business revival, and household stability will remain severely constrained.

The report, Rebuilding Gaza’s Financial Sector & Mobilising Investment, estimates direct financial-sector losses at roughly $325 million, with “~98% of banking infrastructure damaged.” At one checkpoint in late 2025, the report notes that only two of Gaza’s 98 ATMs were operational, underscoring how thoroughly basic financial access has collapsed.

The wider economic picture is even starker. Drawing on the joint UN–World Bank–EU Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, the report cites $53.2 billion in reconstruction needs over the next decade, with $20 billion required in the first three years alone. Gaza’s GDP, meanwhile, is estimated to have contracted by around 83 percent in 2024, as supply chains, services, and markets broke down.

“Gaza’s reconstruction hinges on getting money moving safely and predictably – for people, firms and projects.” In that sense, finance is not simply another sector to rebuild, but the system that enables every other sector to function.

Despite the scale of destruction, the brief identifies important institutional strengths to build on. The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA), the report argues, has remained “a cornerstone of stability in an otherwise fragile economic landscape,” maintaining conservative, risk based supervision even under extraordinary pressure. The PMA’s Sustainable Finance Roadmap and broader reform agenda are described as “the governance backbone needed to channel reconstruction funds in a transparent and auditable manner.”

At the heart of the crisis is liquidity. Even before the war, Palestinian banks struggled with limits on shekel cash repatriation, creating periodic payment bottlenecks. With physical branches destroyed and cash scarce, these constraints have intensified. “Resolving cash and settlement bottlenecks and expanding digital payments are immediate priorities.”.

To address this, the authors propose a phased recovery strategy. In the short term—over the next six months—the focus is on restoring liquidity and basic access. Measures include escorted cash transfers, emergency cash in/cash out agents, mobile branches, and solar powered ATMs. Scaling digital payments is also critical to ensure that “families receive humanitarian assistance and salaries even when physical banking systems are down.”

The medium term phase, spanning up to four years, aims to rebuild payment infrastructure, revive lending to small businesses, and mobilise blended finance for reconstruction. Tools such as guarantees, proceeds based finance, and local currency bond pilots are designed to crowd in private capital while managing post conflict risk.

Over the longer term, the brief calls for developing local currency capital markets and reconnecting Palestine to regional payment and trade systems. These steps, the authors argue, are essential to creating a “resilient, investable financial ecosystem” capable of withstanding future shocks.

Ultimately, the report frames financial recovery as critical for not just the economy but for people. A functioning system, it notes, allows people to access wages and aid, helps small businesses reopen, and restores a measure of dignity and independence. “In this sense,” the report concludes, “PMA’s resilience is not only technical – it is deeply human.”