Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo clarified on Wednesday that it was not involved in the design or manufacturing of pagers used in recent explosions in Lebanon. The company stated that the specific models, AR-924, were produced under a licensing agreement with a foreign firm, BAC Consulting.
A series of explosions, which occurred on Tuesday involving pagers used by Hezbollah members across Lebanon, resulted in at least nine fatalities and around 2,800 injuries, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani. Initial reports claimed Taiwan’s Gold Apollo manufactured the devices, however the company’s founder Hsu Ching-kuang (許清光) said Wednesday that Gold Apollo was not involved and is planning to pursue legal action.
Taiwan’s Economics Ministry stated that there are no records of Gold Apollo exporting the pagers directly to Lebanon. From 2022 to August 2023 the company exported around 260,000 units primarily to Europe and the United States, with no reports of any explosive incidents associated with their products. Gold Apollo emphasized its compliance with regulations and noted that its devices are designed solely for receiving signals and are equipped with batteries similar to standard AA batteries, which are not capable of causing explosions.
The explosions were reported at around 3:30 p.m. local time in Beirut. Witnesses described a series of blasts lasting about an hour. Risk analysts and army officers suggested that the explosions may have been triggered by possible tampering during shipments. Hezbollah has attributed the incident to an attack by Israel, however, Israel’s military declined to respond to these claims.
Analysts speculate that this incident could escalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. While some experts believe this marks a significant intelligence failure for Hezbollah, the broader geopolitical ramifications remain uncertain, with the U.S. monitoring the situation closely to prevent further conflict escalation.