Clashes in Syria's Daraa: What is the Fighting About?

Three years after Syria's government retook control of the flashpoint southern province Daraa, seen here during a July 2018 airstrike, clashes have resumed. (AFP)
Three years after Syria's government retook control of the flashpoint southern province Daraa, seen here during a July 2018 airstrike, clashes have resumed. (AFP)
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Clashes in Syria's Daraa: What is the Fighting About?

Three years after Syria's government retook control of the flashpoint southern province Daraa, seen here during a July 2018 airstrike, clashes have resumed. (AFP)
Three years after Syria's government retook control of the flashpoint southern province Daraa, seen here during a July 2018 airstrike, clashes have resumed. (AFP)

Three years after Syria's government retook control of the flashpoint southern province of Daraa, regime forces have clashed with the opposition again, trapping thousands of civilians in the crossfire.

Nearly half of the population of the opposition-held Daraa al-Balad district have fled heavy shelling and ground battles, but the United Nations warns that remaining civilians are cut off with dwindling supplies.

On Thursday, the UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said civilians were suffering from "acute shortages" of food, fuel, water and medicines in a "near siege-like" situation.

"The situation is alarming," Pedersen said.

Here is what you need to know about the conflict.

Why is Daraa important?
Daraa, which borders Jordan and is close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is widely seen as the cradle of the 2011 uprising in Syria, which sparked a decade-long war that has killed almost half a million people.

In 2011, young boys who had scrawled graffiti against president Bashar al-Assad were detained in Daraa, sparking nationwide protests.

After the demonstrations evolved into war, opposition factions seized control.

The opposition hung on until 2018. But after weeks of deadly fighting, the Russia-backed regime retook control under a surrender deal.

Moscow had brokered similar so-called "reconciliation" accords in Syria's second city of Aleppo, as well the Eastern Ghouta region, outside the capital Damascus.

Under those deals, the opposition handed over their heavy weapons and left on buses. But in Daraa, many former opposition fighters stayed behind.

While some did switch sides and join regime forces, others kept their guns and maintained control over several areas.

In the provincial capital, Daraa city, regime forces returned to the northern half, known as Daraa al-Mahatta.

But the southern half, Daraa al-Balad, remained under opposition control.

What sparked the fighting now?
Since the 2018 "reconciliation" deal, Daraa province has seen regular explosions and hit-and-run attacks.

During presidential elections in May -- a vote widely criticized by Syria's opposition -- protesters in Daraa al-Balad took to the streets demanding the "fall of the regime".

The election was held only in the two-thirds of Syria under government control, and there were no ballot boxes in Daraa al-Balad.

After Assad celebrated winning his fourth term in power, he vowed to return all of Syria to state control.

Residents and activists believe the government wants "revenge".

"Many people in Daraa al-Balad are wanted by the regime," said activist Omar al-Hariri.

Which forces are involved?
In late July, some of the fiercest clashes to rock the province since regime forces returned left 32 dead, including 12 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The government seized farmland outside Daraa al-Balad, before the fighting largely subsided, and Russian-mediated talks began.

But Hariri said pro-Damascus forces had continued to shell the area "to exhaust fighters who only have light weapons".

Mohammad al-Abdallah, director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Center, said Iran was pushing Damascus to bolster its forces there.

Daraa is close to the Golan Heights, occupied by Tehran's arch-foe Israel. Pro-Iran fighters are deployed in parts of the province.

Russia meanwhile has sought to boost its influence by backing the Syrian army's Fifth Corps, which has absorbed many ex-opposition fighters.

"Competition between the Iranians and the Russians over areas of influence in Syria" was also at play, Abdallah added.

Hariri said residents in Daraa al-Balad now face a bleak choice.

"We have two options," he said. "Let the Fifth Corps deploy with Russia pulling the strings, or face a sudden onslaught from regime forces."

What is the impact on civilians?
The UN's envoy Geir Pedersen warned Thursday of his "growing concern" at the situation, calling for an end to the fighting and unimpeded humanitarian access.

Around 24,000 of Daraa al-Balad's 55,000 residents have fled to surrounding areas or regime-controlled parts of the city, the UN humanitarian agency says.

"Civilians are suffering with acute shortages of fuel, cooking gas, water, and bread," Pedersen said. "Medical assistance is in short supply to treat the injured".

Regime forces encircle the district, with entry limited to a single road with checkpoints.

Abu Al-Tayb, a media activist in Daraa al-Balad, said people were "at the mercy" of regime forces.

"Sometimes only women and children are allowed to take the road, and sometimes they close it off completely," he said.

He said flour had run out, the regime had cut off the water supply to the main storage tank, and there were regular power cuts.

"We're making do with very little," he said.



To Get Their Own Cash, People in Gaza Must Pay Middlemen a 40% Cut

A destroyed branch of the Bank of Palestine in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
A destroyed branch of the Bank of Palestine in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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To Get Their Own Cash, People in Gaza Must Pay Middlemen a 40% Cut

A destroyed branch of the Bank of Palestine in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
A destroyed branch of the Bank of Palestine in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

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.

Someone needing cash transfers money electronically to a broker and moments later is handed a fraction of that amount in bills. Many brokers openly advertise their services, while others are more secretive. Some grocers and retailers have also begun exchanging cash for their customers.

"If I need $60, I need to transfer $100," said Mohammed Basheer al-Farra, who lives in southern Gaza after being displaced from Khan Younis. "This is the only way we can buy essentials, like flour and sugar. We lose nearly half of our money just to be able to spend it."

In 2024, inflation in Gaza surged by 230%, according to the World Bank. It dropped slightly during the ceasefire that began in January, only to shoot up again after Israel backed out of the truce in March.

Cash touches every aspect of life in Gaza

About 80% of people in Gaza were unemployed at the end of 2024, according to the World Bank, and the figure is likely higher now. Those with jobs are mostly paid by direct deposits into their bank accounts.

But "when you want to buy vegetables, food, water, medication -- if you want to take transportation, or you need a blanket, or anything — you must use cash," al-Dahdouh said.

Shahid Ajjour’s family has been living off of savings for two years after the pharmacy and another business they owned were ruined by the war.

"We had to sell everything just to get cash," said Ajjour, who sold her gold to buy flour and canned beans. The family of eight spends the equivalent of $12 every two days on flour; before the war, that cost less than $4.

Sugar is very expensive, costing the equivalent of $80-$100 per kilogram (2.2 pounds), multiple people said; before the war, that cost less than $2.

Gasoline is about $25 a liter, or roughly $95 a gallon, when paying the lower, cash price.

Bills are worn and unusable

The bills in Gaza are tattered after 21 months of war.

Money is so fragile, it feels as if it is going to melt in your hands, said Mohammed al-Awini, who lives in a tent camp in southern Gaza.

Small business owners said they were under pressure to ask customers for undamaged cash because their suppliers demand pristine bills from them.

Thaeir Suhwayl, a flour merchant in Deir al-Balah, said his suppliers recently demanded he pay them only with brand new 200-shekel ($60) bank notes, which he said are rare. Most civilians pay him with 20-shekel ($6) notes that are often in poor condition.

On a recent visit to the market, Ajjour transferred the shekel equivalent of around $100 to a cash broker and received around $50 in return. But when she tried to buy some household supplies from a merchant, she was turned away because the bills weren’t in good condition.

"So the worth of your $50 is zero in the end," she said.

This problem has given rise to a new business in Gaza: money repair. It costs between 3 and 10 shekels ($1-$3) to mend old bank notes. But even cash repaired with tape or other means is sometimes rejected.

People are at the mercy of cash brokers

After most of the banks closed in the early days of the war, those with large reserves of cash suddenly had immense power.

"People are at their mercy," said Mahmoud Aqel, who has been displaced from his home in southern Gaza. "No one can stop them."

The war makes it impossible to regulate market prices and exchange rates, said Dalia Alazzeh, an expert in finance and accounting at the University of the West of Scotland. "Nobody can physically monitor what’s happening," Alazzeh said.

A year ago, the Palestine Monetary Authority, the equivalent of a central bank for Gaza and the West Bank, sought to ease the crisis by introducing a digital payment system known as Iburaq. It attracted half a million users, or a quarter of the population, according to the World Bank, but was ultimately undermined by merchants insisting on cash.

Israel sought to ramp up financial pressure on Hamas earlier this year by tightening the distribution of humanitarian aid, which it said was routinely siphoned off by militants and then resold.

Experts said it is unclear if the cash brokers’ activities benefit Hamas, as some Israeli analysts claim.

The war has made it more difficult to determine who is behind all sorts of economic activity in the territory, said Omar Shabaan, director of Palthink for Strategic Studies, a Gaza-based think tank.

"It's a dark place now. You don't know who is bringing cigarettes into Gaza," he said, giving just one example. "It's like a mafia."

These same deep-pocketed traders are likely the ones running cash brokerages, and selling basic foodstuffs, he said. "They benefit by imposing these commissions," he said.

Once families run out of cash, they are forced to turn to humanitarian aid.

Al-Farra said that is what prompted him to begin seeking food at an aid distribution center, where it is common for Palestinians to jostle over one other for sacks of flour and boxes of pasta.

"This is the only way I can feed my family," he said.