Bank robbers become heroes amid Lebanon’s financial crisis - By JORGEN SOBY

The dire situation comes to light in a viral video where a woman claims she had to “rob her bank” at gunpoint to withdraw her own money. She was forced to become a bank robber to pay for her sister’s cancer treatment, but she later told the media the gun was a toy.

According to a report from Al Jazeera, “In August, an armed man also held employees and customers hostage at a Beirut bank after he was told he could not withdraw $200,000 from his account for his sick father’s treatment.”

“The man was cheered on by a crowd outside the bank.”

Banks locked most depositors out of their accounts as a financial crisis hit three years ago.

In both cases, the armed bank robbers required the funds to pay for a family’s medical treatment.