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Suspicions: The Hezbollah devices that exploded in Lebanon and Syria were produced by a Hungarian company

2024-09-18 18:56:11, Kosova & Bota CNA

Suspicions: The Hezbollah devices that exploded in Lebanon and Syria were

Illustrative photo

A Taiwanese company said today that it had authorized the use of its name on 'pager' communication devices used by members of the militant group Hezbollah, but the devices were manufactured by a Hungarian-based firm. These devices exploded around the same time on Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing 12, including two children, and injuring around 3,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for the blasts, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was neither aware nor involved in the operation.

In what appears to be a sophisticated, remote attack, personal 'pager' communication devices used by hundreds of members of the Hezbollah group exploded around the same time in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday. A "pager" is a messaging tool, other than cell phones, widely used in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

A US official said Israel had notified the United States after the operation, which detonated small amounts of explosives hidden in pager devices.

Among the injured is the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, who is being treated in the hospital.

According to witnesses and security sources, the explosions began around 3:30 p.m. and continued for nearly an hour. Some of them happened when the user received a message and in an attempt to read it, pressing the buttons activated the explosive.

The explosions, according to analysis by the Reuters agency, were isolated, injuring only the person carrying the communication device or people who were very close. Images from hospitals and those posted on social media showed individuals with facial wounds, mutilated fingers and open wounds on their waists.

The Hezbollah leader had banned the use of mobile phones due to fears that they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence agencies and had demanded the use of old-technology pager devices.

According to senior Lebanese officials, Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 such communications devices from the Gold Apollo company, which some sources said had reached Lebanon earlier this year.

The Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said that the equipment bearing its name was manufactured and sold by the company 'BAC Consulting KFT', which it had authorized to use its name in some regions of the world and with which it had such agreements in three the last few years.

"In the last three years, we have cooperated with a company in Europe, which is a partner for all our equipment. It produces the pager devices with our logo, they pay us for its use, as we have in the contract."

BAC, which presents itself as a Hungarian company with headquarters in Budapest, is the manufacturer of the AR-924 pager devices that were used in the attack. This company, which appears to be a shell business used to hide activities, was registered as a firm in 2022.

The company's building in Budapest has the names of several companies emblazoned on its windows.

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for the alleged attack, which raised fears of open war between them. Despite periods of tension between Israel and Hezbollah, the two sides have avoided open war, but in recent weeks Israeli leaders have warned they will escalate operations against the militant group in Lebanon.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied involvement in the incidents in Lebanon.

"As for Lebanon, the United States was not aware of it, nor was it involved. We are still gathering information and facts. In general, we have made it clear how important it is for all parties to avoid steps that could escalate the conflict, which we are trying to resolve in Gaza, to spread to other fronts. It is not in the interest of either party involved that such a thing should happen. Therefore, it is important that all parties avoid actions that could escalate the conflict", he said.

Sources of the American daily New York Times said that Israel had hidden the explosives in them before the devices were imported to Lebanon.

In Jerusalem, Israelis hailed Tuesday's operation.

"Israel proves again that our imagination is infinite. We can strike our enemies at any time. But the problem is that they don't learn and continue with their agenda to destroy the state of Israel."

Israel has not yet commented on the explosions in Lebanon./ VOA