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    • What We Know About Hezbollah’s Exploding Beacons, Including Who Manufactured the Devices
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    What We Know About Hezbollah’s Exploding Beacons, Including Who Manufactured the Devices

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    Topline

    Taiwanese wireless equipment maker Gold Apollo reported Wednesday that the pagers used by Hezbollah members that exploded in Lebanon and Syria a day earlier, killing at least nine people, were manufactured under license by a Hungarian company, despite bearing Hezbollah’s brand name.

    Key Facts

    According to multiple reports, Tuesday’s explosions involved a Gold Apollo AR-924 model, the product page of which appears to have been removed from the company’s website.

    Speaking to reporters at the company’s headquarters in Taipei, Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-kuang said the exploding beepers were made by Budapest-based BAC Consulting, which had been granted permission to use the Taiwanese company’s brands for “product sales in designated regions.”

    Hsu told reporters he has no idea how the pager became an explosive. He said, “I’m just doing my thing, why would I get involved in a terrorist attack?”

    Hsu claimed his company has had problems with BAC in the past, pointing to their “strange” money transfers being routed through the Middle East.

    Hsu described his company as a victim and acknowledged that the incident was “very embarrassing” and that he plans to sue BAC.

    In a statement on its website, Gold Apollo claims that the design and production of the AR-924 were “solely the responsibility of BAC.”

    Get Forbes Breaking News SMS Alerts: We’re launching SMS notifications so you’re always up to date on the biggest stories making headlines today. Send ‘notifications’ to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

    What do we know about the AR-924?

    Although Gold Apollo says it was not involved in the design of the AR-924, the company’s website does have a product page for the pager. According to an archived version of the page, the product is called the Rugged Pager (AR-924). The product page boasts an 85-day battery life for the pager, likely a handy feature for Hezbollah operatives given Lebanon’s unreliable power grid. The page makes no mention of the AR-924 being designed or manufactured by BAC or any other company. The only reference linking it to Europe is a note that the pager has CE, or “European Conformity,” approval, which is required for electronics sold in Europe — something that isn’t mentioned on the product pages for other devices.

    What do we know about Bac?

    BAC Consulting Kft. is based in Budapest, Hungary, and appears to be a shell corporation, according to the Associated Press. The company’s website is no longer accessible, but an archived version of its “About Us” page offers no details about what the company actually does, beyond a few canned quotes about “leadership,” “creativity” and “innovation.” Its LinkedIn profile also offers few details, beyond the vague sentence that the company “works internationally as agents of change through a network of consultants.” The company’s website lists Cristiana Arcidiacono-Bársony as founder and CEO, and she spoke to NBC News, confirming that her company worked with Gold Apollo. But when asked about the exploding pagers, she said, “I don’t make the pagers. I’m just the middleman. I think you’re wrong.” AP reports, citing public data, that BAC was registered as a limited liability company in 2022, but Bársony-Arcidiacono’s LinkedIn profile shows she has been the company’s CEO since 2019.

    Main background

    At least nine people, including a young girl and a Hezbollah member, were killed Tuesday when hundreds of beepers exploded simultaneously in the country and parts of Syria, Lebanese officials said. At least 2,750 others were injured in the explosions. Shortly after the incident, Lebanese officials blamed Israel, while the Iranian-backed Hezbollah vowed revenge on the Jewish state.

    How did the pagers explode?

    Little is known about how the pagers exploded simultaneously on Tuesday, but Lebanese officials and the militant group Hezbollah have blamed Israel. Citing an unnamed official, AP reported that Israel had informed the U.S. of its involvement in the operation, in which the pagers were rigged with a small amount of explosives. Lebanese security officials told Reuters that Israel’s Mossad spy agency was likely involved. The Israeli government has not publicly commented on its involvement.

    Read more

    9 dead, thousands injured after wireless explosion in Lebanon (Forbes)

    Who Made the Exploding Potatoes? A Messy Global Trail Behind Deadly Explosions in Lebanon (NBC News)

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