​​​​​​​Taiwanese Firm Gold Apollo Says It Didn’t Make Exploding Beepers From Hell Used By Hezbollah Fighters

Taiwanese pager manufacturer Gold Apollo Co., at the center of the exploding pagers incident used by Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon—resulting in nine deaths and nearly 3,000 injuries—shifted the blame onto Budapest-based BAC Consulting Kft. 

The Washington Post cites Hsu Kuang, the founder of Gold Apollo, who told reporters that BAC Consulting “entirely handled” the AR-924 pager manufacturing process. 

On Wednesday, Kuang told reporters at the company’s headquarters in New Taipei City that BAC has been selling Gold Apollo’s pager brand for less than two years. He was completely stumped by how a pager could be weaponized into an explosive device. 

“I’m just doing my business, why am I getting involved in a terrorist attack?” he told reporters, adding, “The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it.”

CEO of Gold Apollo, Hsu Ching-Kuang denied manufacturing the explosive pager. When asked abt AR-924, he said “it is produced & sold by BAC…we only provide brand trademark authorisation & have no involvement in design or manufacturing of this product.” See my exchange w him. pic.twitter.com/eb6k65oyKl

— Tingting Liu 劉亭廷 (@tingtingliuTVBS) September 18, 2024

A statement from Gold Apollo noted that it authorized “BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC.” 

On Tuesday, at around 330 local time across Lebanon, the pagers from hell exploded. Sources told Reuters that Hezbollah fighters began recently using pagers to evade Israeli tracking of their locations. 

Here’s more about the exploding pagers from Bloomberg: 

One of the outstanding questions is how the blasts were planned and then triggered with such coordination. Small amounts of explosive were planted in beepers that Hezbollah had ordered, the New York Times reported, citing US and other officials briefed on the operation. Just one or two ounces of the material was added next to the battery of each pager, and a switch was embeded to trigger the detonation, the newspaper reported. Devices exploded simultaneously around the country at about 3:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese government has identified “Israeli aggression” as being behind the attack, while Hezbollah also says it holds Israel “fully responsible.” Israel has yet to issue an official comment, but there are several reports from the region that war preparations are underway.

According to a report prepared by the American Center for Levant Studies (ACLS), early estimates suggest 4,000 Hezbollah fighters were injured in yesterday’s attack, affecting about a quarter of leadership. 

Around 4,000 Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon were injured after their communication pagers exploded. Eleven members of Hezbollah, including leaders, were confirmed dead in today’s attack with 400 in critical condition and 500 losing their sight. This significant blow left 10% to 25% of the party’s leadership out of service, marking a major disruption in Hezbollah’s command structure. Experts in the region are calling the incident a “checkmate” for Hezbollah. Explosions spread into Syria as devices detonated in a car in Damascus, injuring 18 fighters.

ACLS noted that pentaerythritol tetranitrate explosives were embedded into each of the pagers:

The pagers, acquired as part of a technological upgrade, were brought to Lebanon five months ago from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. The explosive material was inserted before the devices arrived in Lebanon. Initial reports indicate they contained PETN, a powerful explosive material. Each device had no more than 20 grams of PETN, known for its strength and sensitivity. While PETN doesn’t explode on impact or ignition, it can be triggered by continuous vibrations. For reference, 1 kilogram of PETN equals 1.25 kilograms of TNT. Repeated, continuous messages sent to the pagers caused prolonged vibrations, leading to the explosion.

Now, everyone is checking their electronic devices for explosives.