Mossad Rumors: Lebanon Questions Two Men Over Israeli Phone Codes

Lebanese authorities questioned two Palestinian men from Ramallah after their phone numbers carried Israeli country codes, then rejected circulating claims that the pair were Mossad operatives. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the rumors "fake news" and referenced "moral bankruptcy" surrounding the affair in a statement issued by Lebanon's Presidency of the Council of Ministers. His office said hostile parties spread the claims in a "cheap attempt to tarnish the reputation of the President of the Council of Ministers and mislead public opinion."

The two men were detained after using Israeli numbers to book a room at the Lancaster Eden Bay hotel in Beirut, according to the independent outlet Beirut Time. An Uber driver and hotel staff alerted authorities, which prompted an investigation. Security forces later determined that both men had entered Lebanon legally and had visited the country previously. A separate rumor circulated the following day claiming Salam had deported the men rather than holding them, drawing anger from anti-Israel voices in Lebanon.

Skepticism about Mossad activity inside Lebanon has grown since September 2024, when thousands of rigged pagers detonated across Lebanon and Syria, killing and wounding thousands of Hezbollah members. Hezbollah acknowledged that most of those affected were members of the Iran-backed group. Civilians were also reported to have suffered life-altering injuries in that operation. The two Palestinians were released after questioning.

The detentions and the rumors surrounding them played out on Sunday, October 25, 2026, while claims about a Mossad capture continued to circulate online. Lebanese officials addressed those claims directly, stating the men were not intelligence officers. Authorities confirmed the pair had entered Lebanon legally before releasing them.