Lebanon Releases Two Men After Israeli Phone Codes Trigger Spy Rumor

Lebanon freed two Palestinian men on Sunday after officials ruled out a Mossad capture operation. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam labeled the circulating stories as fake news in a statement issued by the Council of Ministers.

The two men, both from Ramallah, were detained after security forces found Israeli country codes on their phone numbers. Authorities questioned the pair and confirmed they had entered Lebanon legally. Officials noted that both men had visited the country before.

Salam accused hostile parties of spreading the rumors to mislead public opinion. His office described the effort as a cheap attempt to tarnish his reputation. The statement criticized the moral bankruptcy surrounding the affair.

Beirut Time reported that the detention began when the men used Israeli phone numbers to book a room at the Lancaster Eden Bay hotel in Beirut. An Uber driver and hotel staff alerted authorities, which started the investigation. Rumors claimed the men held Turkish passports and were Mossad agents.

A separate claim emerged the next day that Salam had deported the men rather than holding them. That story angered anti-Israel voices in Lebanon. The incident follows a surge in concern over Mossad activity in the region.

Fears intensified after the pager plot in September 2024, which killed and wounded thousands of Hezbollah members. The group acknowledged that most victims were its own. Reports also indicated that a number of civilians suffered life-altering injuries in that operation.