Thousands of Hezbollah-owned pagers that detonated in unison on Tuesday were made in Taiwan and had been tampered with by Israel, according to multiple reports.
The wireless beeper explosions, now widely considered an unusual and audacious attack on the Iran-backed militant group, raise serious questions about Hezbollah’s security. Lebanese health officials say the detonations injured at least 2,700 people and killed nine more.
The New York Times reported that Hezbollah had purchased the pagers from Gold Apollo, a manufacturer in Taiwan.
The Times cited unnamed officials, at least some of whom were American, and wrote that Hezbollah had primarily obtained the AP924 model of Gold Apollo’s pagers, though it bought another three models.
The outlet further reported that two officials said Israeli forces had planted small amounts of explosive material — as little as one or two ounces — next to the pagers’ batteries with remote switches.
But Gold Apollo’s founder, Hsu Ching-Kuang, told reporters on Wednesday that his company did not make the exploded pagers.
Per Reuters, he said the devices were instead manufactured by a European firm that had the right to use Gold Apollo’s brand.
“The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,” he said, according to the outlet.
Hsu called the incident “very embarrassing,” but said his company had also been made a victim, per Reuters.
Reuters had earlier reported similar findings to The Times, citing an unnamed senior Lebanese source who said that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 beepers, including the AP924, from Gold Apollo.
The same source told the outlet that Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, had planted a board inside the pagers that contained explosive material and could remotely receive a detonation code. “
“It’s very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner,” the source said, per Reuters.
The outlet added that it had examined some of the exploding pagers and said their design and stickers matched devices built by Gold Apollo.
Gold Apollo and the Israeli Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Hezbollah and Lebanon have both blamed Israel for the exploding pagers, though Tel Aviv has not claimed responsibility.
Pagers became a significant part of Hezbollah’s communication network earlier this year, when its leaders decided to use the devices out of concern that its cellphone network had been compromised.
A July report from Reuters citing multiple sources familiar with Hezbollah said that the group had made the switch due to the loss of several commanders amid hostilities with Israel.
The exploding pagers have led to heightened fears that Israel and Hezbollah may escalate their conflict into a wide-scale or direct war.
Both have been conducting cross-border strikes against each other for months in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent deadly campaign in Gaza. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of residents on either side.
Before the pagers exploded on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his administration’s war goal of returning Israeli evacuees to their homes near Lebanon.
“The Security Cabinet has updated the objectives of the war to include the following: Returning the residents of the north securely to their homes,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“Israel will continue to act to implement this objective,” it added.
He had made no comment or hint implying involvement or planning in any specific attack on Hezbollah.
