Following the Lebanon bombings… Taiwanese company denies responsibility for manufacturing the Pager

The Taiwanese Gold Apollo company denied, on Wednesday, its responsibility for manufacturing the wireless pagers that exploded in Lebanon, Tuesday, resulting in 9 killed and hundreds of wounded.

The Taiwanese company stated in a statement that it has no authority to manufacture the AR924 model of wireless pagers, after Lebanese people circulated pictures on social media showing that the brand and model of the damaged pagers are Gold Apollo Rugged Pager AR924.

“We only grant permission to use the trademark, and have no role in the design or manufacture of this product,” Gold Apollo company said.

The company explained that the manufacture of pager devices is due only to a company called BAC which granted Gold Apollo the right to use its trademark.

According to reports in the Taiwanese press, company director Hsu Shing-kuang said at a press conference that the pagers were manufactured outside Taiwan.

Kwang said that the explosive devices were produced by BAC Consulting Ltd, a company based in Budapest, Hungary, and that it had signed a licensing contract with this company 3 years ago.

Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said in a press conference that 9 people, including a child, were killed and 2,800 were injured, including 20 in critical condition, (This is an incomplete toll).

While the Lebanese government and Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out the bombings, and the party promised just retribution, Tel Aviv met this with official silence.

For his part, Lebanon’s representative to the United Nations, Hadi Hashem, said that the Israeli attack against his country by blowing up wireless pagers is a war crime.

This came in a speech he delivered during his participation in the emergency session held by the United Nations General Assembly, on Tuesday, regarding the legal consequences of Israeli activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Hashem explained that since October 8, 2023, Israel has been carrying out attacks that would violate Lebanon’s sovereignty.

He added that the Israeli attacks were also accompanied by harsh speeches by a number of its officials, indicating that Israel violates international law, UN resolutions and human rights.

He stated that the cyber-attack carried out by Israel resulted in the death of 9 people, including a child, and the injury of thousands of others.

The Lebanese UN delegate indicated that the attack was extremely dangerous and that it caused panic in the region.

For his part, Iran’s representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, said that the “terrorist attacks and activities” carried out by Israel against civilians in Lebanon have resulted in the injury of thousands of people, including Tehran’s ambassador to Beirut.

He added in a speech during the same session, “We condemn this act of sabotage and terrorist activity in the strongest terms… Israel must be held accountable for its crimes”.

“How many women and children must be killed for the international community to stop this war machine?” he asked.

In turn, Hezbollah threatened Israel on Wednesday with a severe reckoning in response to an attack that caused the explosion of thousands of wireless pagers in Lebanon, which the party relies on for its communications, stressing that it will continue its daily operations to support the Gaza Strip in the face of the Israeli war.

In a statement, Hezbollah offered its condolences to “the families of the martyrs who died on Tuesday, whether on the southern front in the towns of Blida and Majdal Salm, or the martyrs who died in the treacherous and widespread aggression through Pagers communication devices explosions, and wished the wounded a speedy recovery”.

Hezbollah stressed in its statement that “the Islamic resistance in Lebanon will continue today, as in all the past days, its blessed operations to support Gaza, its people and its resistance, and to defend Lebanon, its people and its sovereignty”.

He stressed that “this path is continuous and separate from the difficult reckoning that the criminal enemy must face for its Tuesday massacre that it committed against our people, our families, and our fighters in Lebanon… This is another reckoning that is coming”.

He considered that “what happened yesterday will increase our determination and resolve to continue on the path of jihad and resistance”.

For its part, the US Department of Defense said that the United States had no role in the simultaneous explosion of wireless pagers in Lebanon.

This came in a statement made by Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder on Tuesday.

Asked if the United States was involved in the bombings, Ryder said, “To my knowledge, the United States had no role in this… Again, this is an issue that we are pursuing”.

He added that there would be no change in the US military position in the Middle East after the aforementioned bombing.

Ryder also said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is very focused on ensuring that tensions don’t escalate into a broader regional conflict.

He added that Washington believes that diplomacy is the best way to reduce the ongoing conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah.