Hundreds of pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria in an apparent operation targeting members of Hezbollah bore the brand of a Taiwanese company, though the firm’s chair told reporters Wednesday that another company in Budapest manufactured the devices.
Near-simultaneous detonations of pagers used by members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group killed at least 12 people, including two children, and wounded nearly 3,000 on Tuesday.
Taiwanese pager firm Gold Apollo said in a statement that the firm had licensed its AR-924 brand of pager to BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, and was not involved in the production.
“According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read.
LEBANON EXPLOSIONS: HEZBOLLAH APPARENTLY TARGETED AS PAGERS DETONATE, SEVERAL DEAD, THOUSANDS HURT
People gather outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several men who were wounded by exploded handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Masri)
Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told reporters Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, though he provided no evidence of the contract.
This photo shows a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria is headquartered in Budapest on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
The pagers started heating up and exploding around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The blasts were concentrated in areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence, particularly a southern Beirut suburb and in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon and in Damascus, Lebanese security officials and a Hezbollah official told the Associated Press.
Lebanon Health Minister Firas Abiad told reporters Wednesday morning that many of the wounded had severe injuries to the eyes, and others had limbs amputated.
HEZBOLLAH’S NEIGHBORS: ISRAELI BORDER COMMUNITY UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK FROM TERROR GROUP
Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack. The Israeli government has not commented.
Experts believe a sophisticated supply chain infiltration occurred, during which explosive material was secreted into the pagers prior to their delivery and use.
Osher Assor, managing partner at Israeli cybersecurity consulting firm Auren, told the Wall Street Journal that such an operation would have taken at least a year to plan.
“The moment the specific message arrived, the devices were activated,” Assor told the newspaper. “This is unprecedented – both the size and the scale – we haven’t seen something like that before.”
Civil Defense first-responders carry a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
While it appeared that members of Hezbollah possessed many of the pagers that exploded, it was not immediately clear if non-Hezbollah members also carried any of the pagers.
Hezbollah, which has pointed the blame at Israel, said in a statement Wednesday morning that it would continue its normal strikes against Israel “as in all the past days” as part of what it describes as a support front for its ally Hamas, and Palestinians in Gaza.
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Both U.S. State Department spokesman Matt Miller and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during separate daily briefings on Tuesday that the U.S. was not involved in the incident or aware of the incident prior to the explosions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
