Lebanon releases two men after Israeli phone codes triggered hotel alarm

Lebanese authorities have released two Palestinian men from Ramallah following a brief detention sparked by an alert from hotel staff.

Security forces detained the pair after their mobile numbers were identified as carrying Israeli country codes. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam dismissed online rumors claiming the men were Mossad operatives. He described the circulating stories as fake news.

The incident began when the two men booked a room at the Lancaster Eden Bay hotel in Beirut using those numbers. An Uber driver and hotel employees reported the anomaly to local authorities. Security teams subsequently questioned the pair. Officials confirmed both men had entered Lebanon legally and had visited the country previously.

Salam’s office issued a statement on Sunday criticizing hostile parties for stirring up the rumors. The administration said the claims were a cheap attempt to tarnish the Prime Minister’s reputation and mislead the public. A separate rumor that the men had been deported rather than held also drew criticism from anti-Israel groups in the region.

Public sensitivity to Israeli intelligence operations in Lebanon has grown since September 2024. That is when thousands of booby-trapped pagers exploded across Lebanon and Syria. The attack killed and wounded thousands of Hezbollah members. The Iran-backed group acknowledged that most of the casualties were its own fighters, though a number of civilians also suffered life-altering injuries.