Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Witkoff: 'That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families'
Witkoff: 'Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week'
Witkoff calls Hamas response 'totally unacceptable'
Israeli PM says 'Israel will continue its action in Gaza for the return of hostages and defeat of Hamas'
Israeli PM says Hamas is continuing its refusal of Witkoff proposal for Gaza
Received document: Cessation of military operations by both sides for a long-term period of 5-7 years, guaranteed by mediators
Received document: An independent committee of technocrats will begin managing all the affairs of the Gaza Strip immediately upon the implementation of this agreement, with full powers and duties
Received document: A ceasefire will be declared and Israeli forces will fully withdraw after an agreement is reached to exchange the remaining captives and bodies
Received document: The negotiations will focus on the terms of exchanging all remaining Israeli captives in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners
Received document: On the first day, indirect negotiations will begin under the auspices of the mediators with the aim of guaranteeing a permanent ceasefire

Lebanon bank hostage-taker turns self in

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 11 Aug 2022 22:16
4 Min Read

The suspect turned himself in after the bank agreed to pay him $30,000 from his more than $200,000 in trapped savings, according to official media.

  • x
  • An armed man Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, 42, right, holds a cigarette as he speaks with one of his hostages inside a bank, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. (AP)
    Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, 42 holds a cigarette as he speaks with one of his hostages inside a bank, in Beirut,  Aug. 11, 2022 (AP)

Bystanders praised an armed client who held bank employees hostage for hours Thursday in Lebanon because he couldn't access funds frozen as a hero.

The suspect, identified only as Bassam, was armed with a rifle and had doused the interior of the bank with gasoline, according to security sources.

But after eight hours the standoff ended peacefully.

"You are a hero, Bassam!" cheered bystanders outside the bank.

The incident was the latest to involve local banks and irate depositors who have been unable to access savings held in Lebanese banks since the country's economic crisis began in 2019.

The suspect turned himself in after the bank agreed to pay him $30,000 from his more than $200,000 in trapped savings, according to official media.

"Employees taken hostage have also begun to leave the bank," Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said.

Lebanese banks have imposed limited withdrawals of hard currency for most depositors, leaving more than 75% of the population struggling to make ends meet and afford even the most basic goods.

The man entered the Federal Bank of Lebanon's branch in the Western Hamra neighborhood just before noon on Thursday, bearing a firearm, a security source told Reuters.

The man demanded access to some $200,000 that he had in his bank account due to a relative being in the hospital and him needing the money. After the employee refused the request, he pulled out his gun.

Related News

Suspect pleads not guilty in California mass shooting

The man’s brother who was on the scene told the Associated Press his brother was seeking to withdraw his money to pay for his father’s medical expenses and other family needs.

"My brother is not a scoundrel, he is a decent man," Atef al-Sheikh Hussein told the news agency. "He takes what he has from his own pocket to give to others."

A gunman broke into a bank in Beirut with a gallon of gasoline, threatening to set himself on fire if the security forces break into the bank, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported.

A #Lebanese man has taken an unspecified number of people hostage, demanding the release of his deposits frozen by his bank in the wake of the economic crisis in #Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/34jJnWL7yZ

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 11, 2022

"Work is currently underway to provide part of the gunman's funds as means to negotiate with him," our correspondent added, noting that information suggests that he has five hostages.

At least one elderly man was released from the bank because of his age and government negotiators were deployed to begin talks with the hostage taker, the interior ministry said.

A Reuters witness could see a bearded man in a black shirt behind the gated entrance to the bank speaking to several men in plainclothes on the outside. 

"Let them give me back my money!" he was heard telling them.

The situation caused a crowd to gather outside the bank, many of which were changing "down with the rule of banks!" a slogan that has been echoing throughout Lebanon for a while now, since the start of the economic crisis and the protests that followed suit.

Commercial banks cap monthly cash withdrawals in US dollars while only allowing limited amounts to be withdrawn in Lebanese pounds at a rate much lower than the parallel market rate, which leads to significant cuts in the original value of the deposits that have become incredibly inflated.

Banks claim to make exceptions for humanitarian cases, such as hospital care, but depositors say these exemptions are very rarely implemented.

  • Lebanon
  • suspect
  • bank
  • hostage-taker
  • Economic crisis in Lebanon

Most Read

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump tensions

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump pressures

  • US & Canada
  • 25 May 2025
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announces a new operation against Ben Gurion Airport on May 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen announces successful hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion

  • Politics
  • 30 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Doctors weigh a Palestinian baby at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic in Muwasi, near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (AP)
Health

US-Israeli Gaza aid plan is catastrophic, inhumane: MSF

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Latakia governorate on May 30, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

Israeli airstrikes hit military targets across western Syria

An Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the Iranian city of Isfahan, March 30, 2005. (AP)
Politics

US, E3 to push IAEA to declare Iran in breach of nuclear commitments

A Syrian soldier closes the gate of a military base on the outskirts of Harasta, near Damascus, Syria, Saturday, May 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Syrians expel Israeli patrol in Quneitra amid rising tensions

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS