GAZA CITY — The Hamas regime was said to have recovered from its financial crisis.

Hamas sources said the Islamist government has paid its 30,000 civil servants their full salaries for May. They said this marked the first time in more than three months that all government employees received their full salaries on time.

The sources said they were not certain how Hamas solved its financial crisis. A Hamas source said the regime raised millions of dollars in May through a series of taxes, particularly on cigarettes

"There was probably another reason," the source said. "Money was smuggled to the Gaza Strip, probably through visitors."

After a shortage of nearly a year, Hamas has also managed to bring in millions of dollars in U.S. and Jordanian currency. The source said the European Union helped ensure that Gaza banks were supplied with currency other than the Israeli shekel.

"There was a cash flow problem and it has ended," a Hamas source said.

The sources said the salaries began being paid to Hamas government employees on June 6. They said the Palestinian National Bank in Gaza City has been processing the salaries.

Since February 2010, Hamas had been unable to pay full salaries to employees, including Cabinet ministers. The sources said civil servants received between 1,000 and 1,500 Israeli shekels, or $270 to $400 per month.

Hamas has also sought to defuse its housing crisis in the southern Gaza Strip in wake of the demolition of more than 30 unlicensed structures in May. Officials said the government would construct housing units on public land around the city of Rafah.

"We advise all Gaza residents not to buy any land offered for sale by illegal dealers," Hamas Planning Minister Mohammed Awad said on June 6. "A portion of public land in Gaza is being traded through illegal contacts from one citizen to another in an endless circle."

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