'Israel' planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah: NYT
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Hezbollah ordered the pagers from Gold Apollo, which were reportedly tampered with before arriving in Lebanon.
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People gathered outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several men who were wounded by exploded handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 17, 2024. (AP)
"Israel" planted explosive material in a recent batch of Taiwanese-brand pagers imported to Lebanon, carrying out an operation against Hezbollah on Tuesday, The New York Times reported, citing US and other officials briefed on the attack.
Pagers ordered by Hezbollah from Gold Apollo were tampered with before arriving in the county, some officials stated. Most pagers were the AR924 models, but the shipment also included three other models from the company, according to NYT.
Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo said the pagers were produced and developed by a European company, CEO Hsu Chin-Kuang said on Wednesday.
"The pagers were both developed and produced abroad, so they have nothing to do with Taiwan," the director was quoted as saying by Taiwanese news portal CTWANT.
He also said that about three years ago, Gold Apollo signed a cooperation agreement with a European company, which was only involved in distributing Gold Apollo products at first, but later began independently developing the pagers involved in the blasts.
The explosive material, weighing less than 60 grams, was implanted next to the battery in each device, two officials said. An embedded switch was also planted in the pagers, allowing for remote detonation of the explosives.
Three officials said that the devices were programmed to beep for several before exploding.
It is unclear when the devices were ordered or arrived in Lebanon. However, several officials said over 3,000 pagers were ordered from the Taiwanese company and distributed to Resistance members throughout the country.
Hezbollah accuses 'Israel' of large-scale cyberattack
The pagers received a message at 3:30 pm, however, the message triggered the explosives, killing 11 people and injuring over 2,700, the Lebanese health minister told state media.
Hezbollah accused "Israel" of orchestrating the electronic attack.
Independent cybersecurity experts confirmed that the strength and speed of the explosions were caused by a form of explosive material, based on footage of the attack.
“These pagers were likely modified in some way to cause these types of explosions — the size and strength of the explosion indicates it was not just the battery,” Mikko Hypponen stated, a research specialist at software company WithSecure and Europol cybercrime advisor.
