Protests are taking place in Lebanon against the rapid devaluation of the lira. Protesters burned tires and held handfuls of bills in the local currency outside the entrance to Lebanon's central bank in Beirut, Reuters reported.

Lebanon's economic crisis, which began in 2019, has cost the lira about 97 percent of its value. The decline was particularly sharp in January, falling from 42,000 Lebanese lira per dollar to a new low of 56,000 this week.

"I used to buy a kilogram of meat for myself and my children for that 16,000 Lebanese lira. Now 250 grams costs 100,000. Our children are hungry, we are hungry," said protesters Abu Ali, an elderly man from southern Lebanon who was clutching a handful of Lebanese banknotes.

Another man tore into a dollar as protesters pelted the Central Bank with stones.

Since the beginning of the crisis, Lebanese banks have severely restricted withdrawals in dollars and Lebanese pounds.

Gasoline prices also jumped on Wednesday to more than a million Lebanese pounds per 20-liter tank, something few Lebanese can afford.