Lebanon denies Mossad capture, releases two Palestinians

Lebanese authorities dismissed reports on Sunday that two Israeli Mossad agents had been captured, labeling the stories as fabricated while addressing the detention of two Palestinian men. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stated that the incident suffered from a moral bankruptcy, according to a written statement issued by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

The two men, both residents of Ramallah, were initially held because their mobile phone numbers utilized Israeli country codes. Security officials questioned the pair and confirmed that both had entered Lebanon through legal channels and had visited the country previously. The government moved to release them after determining they were not foreign spies.

Beirut Time reported that the initial suspicion arose when the men used Israeli numbers to reserve rooms at the Lancaster Eden Bay hotel in Beirut. An Uber driver and hotel staff reportedly notified the authorities, which triggered the investigation. Rumors subsequently circulated online that the men were Mossad operatives holding Turkish passports.

Salam's office claimed that hostile parties spread the misinformation to tarnish the Prime Minister's reputation and mislead the public. A secondary rumor emerged the following day suggesting that Salam had deported the men rather than detaining them, a claim that provoked anger among anti-Israel factions in Lebanon.

Public anxiety over Israeli intelligence activity has remained high since September 2024. During that period, thousands of booby-trapped pagers exploded in Lebanon and Syria. The blasts killed and wounded thousands of Hezbollah members, with the Iran-backed group confirming that most casualties were its own fighters. Reports also noted that several civilians sustained life-altering injuries in the operation.