Lebanese hotel employee brushes off Israeli TV host's 'prank call'

An Israeli media personality seemingly prank called a hotel in Lebanon live on air asking if there any vacancies available for thousands of Israeli guests.

In a video widely shared on social media, the presenter, who spoke in Arabic, said he was from Israel, before asking if there were any places available for "30,000, 40,000, 50,000 Israelis in need" at Caesar's Park Hotel in Beirut, because of "Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran and the Houthis".

The presenter's fellow television personalities and the audience on the show could be seen laughing as he made the call.

The hotel employee then asks the presenter where he is from, to which he replies with: "We are from the State of Israel", before saying: "We are 50,00, 60,000 people. We want to come to Beirut to your hotel."

The employee then tells the Israeli to "go to hell" before he hangs up. The Israeli caller then insulted him in Arabic, before going back to speaking in Hebrew.

The incident took place on Israel’s Channel 12, though it remains unclear when.

Social media users praised the Lebanese employee's reaction. One X, formerly Twitter, user said: "They wanted it as a joke, so the response came as a shock from the employee."

Another said: "To 60,000 hells, you Zionist occupiers."

The incident comes against the backdrop of cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, amid the brutal military onslaught in the Gaza Strip, where at least 35,800 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in over seven months.

The war in Gaza has since spilled over into other countries in the region, notably to Lebanon.

Israel fires into the country on an almost daily basis, claiming it targets Hezbollah-linked facilities in towns and villages across the southern border, but it has also hit targets in Beirut and Baalbek.

At least 420 people have been killed in Lebanon since October, including 82 civilians. Israel has also targeted and killed journalists covering the cross-border skirmishes along the border.