Screenshot of Miquel Otin Gomez Israeli Tik Toker's video of him in Beirut.
Miquel Otin Gomez, an Israeli dual national living in Barcelona, posted videos on Instagram and TikTok showing his trip to Beirut and Jbeil, accompanied by another man. His TikTok bio features the flags of Spain and Iraq, indicating he may have used his Spanish passport to enter Lebanon.
His videos were posted six days ago, but only started making rounds on social media platforms in Lebanon on Saturday.
In other clips, he can be seen exploring various streets in Beirut and the ancient port city of Byblos. Later, Gomez posted a video from an airport in Cyprus, where he appears to have used it for a layover before continuing to Israel's Ben Gurion airport.
Gomez asked his followers on TikTok, “Guess where I am‼️” While in Lebanon, Michael recorded videos from Martyrs’ Square, with the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in the background. He wrote in one of the videos, “You are not welcome here.” In another posted video, he said that Lebanon welcomes all sects, including Muslims, Christians and Armenians.
In another video, he appeared in the city of Jbeil.
Under Lebanese law, Israeli citizens are strictly prohibited from entering Lebanon, even if they hold dual nationality. This is since Lebanon and Israel are officially in a state of war. Lebanese authorities view any interaction with Israel — travel, business or contact — as a serious offense. Individuals found to have Israeli stamps or visas in their passports may also be denied entry or detained.
Some Israelis with second passports (e.g., European) have managed to enter Lebanon by avoiding any indication of their Israeli nationality, but this is illegal under Lebanese law and can result in arrest, detention, or deportation if discovered.
Lebanese General Security did not respond to L'Orient Today's requests for comment at the time of publication of this article.
Social media users divided on incident
Lebanese, mainly young adults, took to social media to comment on the incident. The incident garnered mixed reactions from Lebanese users, some hailed the incident, noting that "it's time for Lebanese and Israelis to transcend conflict," while others were angered by Gomez's visit.
One social media user, Lyn, commented below the video of Gomez in Beirut "Come to Jnoub trust me we will receive you well," along with a bomb and fire emoji.
Yano wrote, "Come visit Bikfaya and tell me when you're here so I can show you around," with a heart emoji. Hamza wrote, "Lebanon unites everyone: Muslims, Christians, Jews and Druze. Everyone is welcome," followed by the Lebanese flag.
Andrea commented on the video in Jbeil: "I AM VERY CONFUSED," to which Gomez replied with a question mark.
Ali Jaber wrote: "Let us see you and we will remind you of how we dealt with your ancestors." Dany wrote: "How did you come in?" to which Gomez replied, "Surprise."
This is not the first time such an incident has happened.
In October 2024, as the war between Israel and Hezbollah waged on, an Israeli national was arrested in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
According to Ynet News, his name was Joshua Tartakovsky, a former ultra-Orthodox man from Jerusalem, and had entered the country as an "investigative journalist."
Tartakovsky entered Lebanon using a British passport.
In 2021, Alyne Tamir, an Israeli-American video blogger with millions of followers on social media networks, entered Lebanon to participate in the Beirut Marathon.
After flying out of Lebanon, she posted on her Instagram page "Dear Alyne" a picture of herself on Instagram, saying she had not posted much of late “because I went on a secret trip.”
In a screenshot of a chat shared by Tamir, the video blogger reassured a friend that she had not been active on Instagram “because I was in a country where I need to be careful.”
She posted a video titled “24 Hours in Lebanon” on the same day.
Tamir describes Lebanon as “a country that even when dealing with hardship, like civil wars, blasts and inflation, is so full of history, amazing experiences and beautiful people.”
A group of ultra-Orthodox Israelis entered southern Lebanese territory near Houla (Marjayoun) in March for a "religious visit" organized by the Israeli army. The site is believed to be the tomb of Babylonian rabbi Rav Ashi, located inside Lebanese territory, near the Israeli locality of Manara.
According to The Times of Israel, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish pilgrims visited the site, escorted by the Israeli army. Images published by Israeli military radio GLZ showed the visitors praying near the location, which is adjacent to a concrete border wall built by the army.
The outlet reported that similar visits, coordinated by the Israeli army, had taken place in the past.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in April that Israel seeks to "normalize its relations with Lebanon."
He also noted that negotiations were underway, though this may seem "premature from the Lebanese point of view."
U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus already called for open dialogue between Lebanon and Israel, stating that the Lebanese president supports diplomatic negotiations.
A day earlier, Joseph Aoun had rejected the idea of normalization but said he was open to including "civilian experts" in working groups with Israel.
