In Beirut, Lebanon last week, an armed man took hostages at a bank because he couldn’t access his own money – funds he needed to pay for urgent medical care for his father. After an hours-long standoff, the man accepted a portion of the funds he was trying to take out of his bank account. The money was given to his brother in exchange for turning himself in and releasing the hostages. Meanwhile, crowds had gathered outside of the bank to support him.

This event underscored the deep economic crisis that Lebanon has been experiencing since 2019. According to the World Bank, it could be one of the “world’s worst economic crises since the mid-19th century.”

For more on this we spoke with Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post Correspondent covering the Middle East.