Lebanon releases two men after phone code alert
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called reports of a Mossad capture fake news after security forces verified the men's legal entry.
By Natalia Medina ·
Lebanese authorities released two Palestinian men on Monday after determining they entered the country legally.
The men, both from Ramallah, were detained Sunday following a review of their phone numbers, which carried Israeli country codes.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described rumors of an Israeli Mossad capture as fake news in a statement from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
He accused hostile parties of using the incident to mislead public opinion and tarnish his reputation.
The investigation began when an Uber driver and hotel staff alerted authorities about the pair.
The men had booked a room at the Lancaster Eden Bay hotel in Beirut using the Israeli numbers.
Security forces questioned the men and confirmed they had visited Lebanon before and entered legally.
A separate rumor claimed Salam had deported the men rather than holding them, a version that angered anti-Israel groups in the country.
The episode renewed local anxiety about Israeli intelligence operations.
Those concerns intensified after the pager plot in September 2024, when thousands of booby-trapped devices exploded in Lebanon and Syria.
Hezbollah stated that most of the dead and wounded were its members, though civilians also suffered life-altering injuries.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
