Reuters: The Exploded Pagers of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria Were 'Taiwanese and Produced in Hungary'

The Taiwanese company 'Gold Apollo' announced on Wednesday, September 19, that the exploded pagers in Lebanon and Syria were produced by a company based in Hungary. According to Gold Apollo, the exploded pagers were manufactured by the 'Bauk' company in Budapest, Hungary. The simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers belonging to members of the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, an ally of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is said to have occurred due to a cyber attack, leaving at least 12 dead and thousands injured, increasing the likelihood of a full-scale war in the region. Reuters reported on Wednesday, September 19, citing informed sources, that the Israeli intelligence and special operations agency, 'Mossad', had planted small amounts of explosives inside 5,000 Taiwanese pagers ordered by Hezbollah months before the explosions on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Wednesday of new explosions related to the wireless devices used by Hezbollah members. This comes as news and information regarding the explosion of thousands of Hezbollah pagers on Tuesday continue to increase. On Wednesday, September 19, Reuters reported from a security source and an eyewitness that, one day after the explosion of thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members, handheld radios used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut exploded. According to Reuters, the Lebanese state news agency reported that three people were killed and dozens injured in the latest explosion of wireless devices in the Bekaa region of Lebanon. The report indicates that at least one of the explosions occurred near the location of a funeral for the victims from the previous day, organized by Hezbollah. Earlier, Faras Abiad, the Lebanese Minister of Health, stated on Wednesday, September 19, that the death toll from the pager explosion in the country had risen to 12. Reports indicate that the condition of 200 of the injured is 'critical'. Many of the dead and injured are members of the Hezbollah militia, a group supported by the Islamic Republic. Hezbollah, which is supported by the Islamic Republic, claims it will take revenge on Israel. Meanwhile, Israel has not commented on these explosions. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel have had sporadic clashes, increasing tensions in the region. During the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 last year, at least 1,200 Israeli citizens, including women, children, and the elderly, were killed, and over 250 others were taken hostage. Following this terrorist attack, Israel launched an assault on Gaza to destroy Hamas and recover hostages taken by Hamas. The Hamas group is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Israel, Canada, Japan, and several other countries. Hezbollah, one of the most important proxy groups of the Islamic Republic in the region, issued a statement saying that Israel should expect a response to the 'pager massacre'. According to a Hezbollah official, these explosions represent the 'largest security breach' in the history of this group. A senior Lebanese security source states that Hezbollah had ordered about five thousand pagers from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, which entered Lebanon earlier this year. This Taiwanese company claims that the pagers were produced under its brand in Hungary and sent to Lebanon. The office of the 'Bauk' company is in Budapest, and its registered activities include a wide range of areas such as publishing video games, IT consulting, and crude oil extraction. The company has not responded to Reuters' request for comment. Hezbollah members use these pagers as a low-tech communication device in an effort to evade Israeli location tracking. This senior Lebanese security source states that these devices were manipulated by Israeli intelligence 'at the production level'. Israeli officials did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. This source states that Mossad implanted an explosive device inside the pager that detonated upon receiving a specific code. Another security source told Reuters that about three grams of explosives were embedded in these pagers. Hassan Nasrallah, the group's secretary-general, had previously warned about the dangers of mobile phones for members of this group. The use of these pagers as a strategy to avoid these dangers was implemented by Hezbollah and distributed among military and civilian members of the group. Hezbollah Lebanon was established in 1982 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Several countries, including the United States, Israel, Germany, Serbia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Australia, have recognized the entirety of this group as a terrorist organization. The identification of Hezbollah Lebanon as a terrorist organization means that there is no distinction between its political and military branches, and both branches of Hezbollah are recognized as terrorist entities.