Taiwanese company Gold Apollo says it didn’t make exploding pagers used in Lebanon against Hezbollah

Washington Post ^ | 09/18/2024 | Vic Chiang

[SeekAndFind]

TAIPEI — Taiwanese pager manufacturer Gold Apollo on Wednesday said that it did not make the devices used by the militant group Hezbollah that exploded in Lebanon the previous day, killing at least 12 people and injuring as many as 2,800 others.

Experts said that Israel probably intercepted electronic pagers, used by Hezbollah because they were considered safer than cellphones, before they were delivered to Lebanon and rigged them with explosives.

Hezbollah blamed Israel and threatened to retaliate. The Israel Defense Forces, which does not typically announce operations abroad, declined to comment on whether it was responsible.

Two photos published to social media after the attack show the burned and damaged back panels of pagers with “GOLD” written in text above a model number, “AR-9.” The design of the text matches that emblazoned on the back of the “AR-924” pager model produced by Gold Apollo Co.

But the company said Wednesday that it did not manufacture the AR-924 pagers, and that they were “entirely handled” by a company called BAC Consulting KFT. The Hungarian company was authorized to use Gold Apollo’s brand trademark in some regions, it said. BAC did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s requests for comment Wednesday.

Hsu Ching-kuang, Gold Apollo’s founder, told reporters at the company’s headquarters in New Taipei City on Wednesday that BAC has been selling the pagers using Gold Apollo’s brand for less than two years.

Hsu said he had no idea how a pager could be turned into an explosive. “I’m just doing my business, why am I getting involved in a terrorist attack?” Hsu said.

The pager only has a receiving function, and the battery inside is approximately the size of a AA battery with no possibility of causing an explosion that could lead to casualties, according to the company.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I see what you did there.

[catnipman]

“Hezbollah blamed Israel and threatened to retaliate”

yeah, right ... an army of one-handed, one-eyed eunuch terrorists communicating by carrier pigeon ain’t gonna pose much of a treat of “retaliation” ... not to mention, the whole blowed-up lot of ‘em are permanently marked as “hezbollah terrorist” ...