An electronics manufacturer in Taiwan, Gold Apollo, denied making the pagers used by Hezbollah that exploded in Lebanon, killing at least nine people and injuring over 2,750. The pagers were made by another company licensed to use Gold Apollo’s brand, BAC Consulting based in Hungary. Gold Apollo exported 260,000 pagers from 2022 to August 2024, primarily to European and American markets with no prior reports of explosions related to these products. The Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs is investigating whether the batch of pagers was modified or produced by another manufacturer.
Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have been escalating, with Lebanon condemning an “Israeli cyber attack” and indicating a complaint to the U.N. Security Council. Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, blamed Israel for the explosions and vowed a severe reckoning. The U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon and the U.S. State Department expressed concern over the volatile situation.
Hezbollah, known for using pagers to avoid cellphone tracking by Israel, warned Lebanese citizens to avoid wireless communication devices after the explosions. The group also mentioned civilian casualties, including the son of a Hezbollah member of Parliament. Gold Apollo’s founder, Hsu Ching-kuang, expressed feeling victimized and considered filing a lawsuit, stating his business has been unfairly implicated in the attack. The ongoing investigation aims to determine the circumstances surrounding the production and distribution of the pagers involved in the explosions.
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