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The pagers that blew up in a highly coordinated attack against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon Tuesday came from a company in Budapest, another firm claimed Wednesday — as it was reportedly revealed the gadgets were rigged with as little as one to two ounces of highly explosive material.

The devices all exploded simultaneously Tuesday afternoon after receiving a message that triggered the detonation, killing at least nine people — including a 9-year-old girl — and wounding nearly 3,000 more. Among those injured was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon.

The New York Times reported late Tuesday, citing American and other officials briefed on the operation, that Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that the US has designated a terrorist organization, ordered more than 3,000 of the latest models from Taiwanese company Gold Apollo — most of them being the company’s AP924 model.

But Gold Apollo said Wednesday the products in the attack were made by a company in Europe that had permission to use its branding.

“The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,” Gold Apollo founder and president, Hsu Ching-kuang, said Wednesday.

Gold Apollo said in a statement the pagers were made by BAC Consulting KFT based in Budapest, Hungary.

Calls and emails to BAC on Wednesday morning by Reuters were not returned.  


  The pagers that blew up in a highly coordinated – and deadly – attack against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon Tuesday came from Taiwan and were rigged with as little as one to two ounces of highly explosive material.
 The pagers that blew up in a highly coordinated – and deadly – attack against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon Tuesday came from Taiwan and were rigged with as little as one to two ounces of highly explosive material.

  Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo office in New Taipei City, Taiwan on Sept. 18, 2024. REUTERS Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo office in New Taipei City, Taiwan on Sept. 18, 2024. REUTERS

The shipment, however, was allegedly intercepted by Israeli spy agency Mossad five months ago and rigged with pentaerythritol tetranitrate, a highly explosive material, sources told Sky News Arabia, according to a translation from Israeli media.

They were implanted with as little as one to two ounces of the explosive, allegedly placed next to each battery along with a switch that could be triggered remotely to cause detonation, the officials said, according to the Times.

The pagers all received a message around 3:30 p.m. local time that appeared as though it was being sent from Hezbollah’s leadership, the officials said.

The message caused the batteries’ temperatures to overheat, which triggered the switch and activated the explosives.


  People stand around outside American University of Beirut Medical Center following the pager attack on Sept. 17, 2024. REUTERS People stand around outside American University of Beirut Medical Center following the pager attack on Sept. 17, 2024. REUTERS

  Eight of the people killed by the explosions appeared to be part of the terror group.
 Eight of the people killed by the explosions appeared to be part of the terror group.

The pagers were also programmed to beep for several seconds before blowing up, according to the officials.

Eight of the people killed by the explosions appeared to be part of the terror group, the Associated Press reported.

Lebanon’s health minister, Firas Abiad, told Qatar’s Al Jazeera network a 9-year-old girl was also killed while around 2,750 were wounded — 200 of them in critical condition.

A US official told the AP that Israel briefed the US on the high-profile operation after it happened, though the Israeli military has been mum on the detonations and has not confirmed it carried out the complex attack.


  Lebanon’s health minister, Firas Abiad, told Qatar’s Al Jazeera network an 8-year-old girl was also killed while around 2,750 were wounded – 200 of them in critical condition. REUTERS Lebanon’s health minister, Firas Abiad, told Qatar’s Al Jazeera network an 8-year-old girl was also killed while around 2,750 were wounded – 200 of them in critical condition. REUTERS

Still, Hezbollah has placed the blame on Israel and vowed revenge.

Israel’s military and Hezbollah have been fighting since the start of the bloody conflict in Gaza sparked by the Oct. 7 terror attack on the Jewish state carried out by Hamas. 

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