Beirut: On Wednesday, a woman entered a bank branch in Beirut while being accompanied by activists and brandishing what she claimed was a toy pistol. She stole $13,000 from her hidden savings.
According to Sali Hafez, who spoke to the local Al-Jadeed TV, the funds were required to pay for her sister's cancer treatment. She claimed that after visiting the bank several times to request money, she was informed that she could only receive US$200 per month in Lebanese pounds. The toy pistol, according to Hafez, belonged to her nephew.

In an interview, she said, "I had previously begged the branch manager for my money, telling him my sister was dying and didn't have much time left." "I came to the conclusion that I had nothing left to lose."
Since 2019, Lebanon's cash-strapped banks have placed strict restrictions on currency withdrawals, locking up the savings of millions of people. As the tiny Mediterranean nation's economy continues to tank, about three-quarters of the population have fallen into poverty.

Hafez stormed into the manager's office of the BLOM Bank branch along with activists from a group called Depositors' Outcry. They made the bank employees hand over $12,000 in US currency as well as the equivalent of $1,000 in US pounds.

Hafez claimed that she had savings worth a total of $20,000 trapped in that bank. She claimed that in order to pay for her 23-year-old sister's cancer treatment, she had already sold a lot of her personal belongings and had even thought about selling a kidney.
A customer at the bank named Nadine Nakhal reported that the intruders "doused gasoline everywhere inside, took out a lighter, and threatened to light it." She claimed that if the manager did not give her the money, the woman brandishing a gun would shoot her.

In a livestreamed video that she shared on her Facebook page, Hafez claimed that she had no malicious intentions. She claimed, "I didn't rob the bank to kill people or burn it down. I'm here to defend my legal rights.
In Lebanon, where many people are struggling to make ends meet and recover their savings, Hafez is hailed as a hero on social media. She exhorted others to follow suit in order to recover their savings.

While some of the activists protested at the entrance, others went inside the bank with Hafez. According to witnesses, Hafez eventually left with money in a plastic bag.
A number of the activists were taken into custody by security personnel stationed outside, including a man who appeared to be carrying a handgun. It wasn't immediately obvious if this was a toy gun as well.

The incident happened a few weeks after a food delivery driver broke into a Beirut bank branch and held 10 people hostage for seven hours while demanding his trapped savings, which totaled tens of thousands of dollars. He was hailed as a hero by most.
For more than two years, Lebanon has frantically tried to enact crucial reforms in its crippled banking industry and economy. It has so far been unable to come to terms with the IMF on a recovery plan that would release billions of dollars in foreign loans and aid to restore the country's viability.
Millions are currently coping with widespread power outages and skyrocketing inflation. 

Nakhal declared, "We need to stop everything that is happening to us in this nation. "Everyone's money is trapped in the banks, and in this instance, it belongs to a sick person." We must come up with a solution.

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