Using Pagers to Prevent Hezbollah Tracking
Israel Pre-Emptively Planted Explosives and Remote Controllers
Taiwan Manufacturer: "Only the Trademark Is Ours... We Do Not Manufacture"
Hundreds of pagers used by the armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon exploded simultaneously, shocking the world, and reports have emerged that Israel is behind the pager explosion incident.
An incident occurred in Lebanon where hundreds of pagers used by the armed group Hezbollah exploded simultaneously. The pager, which is known to have explosives installed by Israel. [Image source=Captured from X (formerly Twitter)]
On the 17th (local time), The New York Times (NYT) cited U.S. and Western officials, reporting that Israel had pre-installed explosives in the pagers. The Israeli government has not commented on the explosion incident, but it is known to have shared information about the event with the U.S. and major Western countries. In this regard, U.S. and other Western officials said that Israel planted a small amount of explosives in the pagers imported by Hezbollah from a Taiwanese company.
The exploded pagers were reportedly ordered by Hezbollah from Taiwan's Gold Apollo and delivered to them. Most were AR924 models, each containing 1 to 2 ounces (28 to 56 grams) of explosives next to the battery, along with a switch that could remotely detonate the device. Additionally, a program was installed to emit a signal sound for a few seconds just before the pager exploded. Because of this, many victims were injured in their hands, faces, and abdomens while checking the screen after hearing the signal sound. Some suffered severe injuries such as losing fingers or serious damage to both eyes.
A scene from CCTV footage showing a wireless pager exploding from a man's bag at a supermarket in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on the 17th (local time). [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]
Earlier, after the outbreak of the Gaza war following the October 7 terrorist attack by the Palestinian armed group Hamas last year, Hezbollah increased its use of pagers to avoid wiretapping or location tracking. In particular, Hezbollah's top leader Hassan Nasrallah emphasized in February not to use mobile phones and to discard them, warning that Israel could use them for targeted attacks. When Hezbollah ordered pagers in large quantities, Israeli intelligence agencies 'turned this to their advantage' and used the pagers as a means of attack.
However, Taiwan's Gold Apollo denied that the pagers used in the explosion were manufactured by them. In a statement released that day, Gold Apollo said that the pagers used in the explosion were not their products but were produced and sold by a European distributor that had a trademark agreement with Gold Apollo. Xu Qingguang, founder and chairman of Gold Apollo, also emphasized, "That product is not ours. It just bears our trademark."
Meanwhile, at least nine people have died and about 3,000 have been injured in the pager explosion incident that occurred throughout Lebanon. Hezbollah stated in a press release, "We hold Israel fully responsible," "We will continue operations supporting Gaza (where the Palestinian armed faction Hamas is at war with Israel) as before," and "Paying the price is inevitable." Because of this, concerns have arisen that the pager explosion incident could escalate the conflict between the two sides into a full-scale war.
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