Hostage-taker surrenders after receiving portion of his bank account

After an hours-long standoff, the man surrendered to security forces after he received a portion of his bank account, according to the security source. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity due to professional norms.

The man was promised $30,000 out of the $210,000 in his frozen bank account as part of the terms of his surrender, according to NNA.

The armed man said he needed the funds to pay for his father's operation, threatening to torch the bank and kill everyone in it, according to NNA. The man, seen on social media, wielding an assault rifle.

The man was heard shouting out in a social media video recorded from the bank. I don't have a lot of time. The bearded hostage-taker is seen nervously pacing around the bank as he curses at his hostages. Scores of people gathered outside the bank demanding that the bank return the funds to the hostage-taker in a matter that has highlighted the desperation of Lebanese depositors in the midst of the country's financial tailspin. Many of the hostage-taker's supporters chanted antigovernment slogans. Protesters hurled water bottles at security forces as the hostage taker stepped out of the bank, waving at his supporters. Army soldiers gather near a Federal Bank branch in Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 11, 2022. A customer armed with a rifle and threatening to set himself ablaze held bank workers hostage on August 11 in Lebanon's capital, demanding to withdraw his savings of over $200,000, security sources said. Since the beginning of Lebanon's financial crisis in October 2019, the banking sector has imposed discretionary capital controls that restrict access to their life savings. The head of the Lebanese Depositors' Association, Hassan Mughniyeh, entered the bank on Thursday in an effort to negotiate the release of the hostages, but the man fired two stray shots, according to NNA. According to NNA, the political authority and banking institutions in Lebanon are responsible for this situation. If matters are not addressed swiftly, the situation will worsen. The economic crisis in Lebanon has propelled more than three quarters of the population into poverty and has caused the local currency to lose 90% of its October 2019 value.