In response to the explosions caused by pagers worn by members of Hezbollah that detonated simultaneously across Lebanon, leading to at least nine deaths and injuring about 2,800, Taiwan-based pager maker Gold Apollo denied having an involvement in the incidents, saying those exploded pagers were made by its partner, according to the latest media coverage on the explosions.
Pager type
Remains of the involved pagers obtained by media outlets including Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. According to sources, these pagers are the latest models brought in by Hezbollah to evade Israeli tracking of their locations.
Gold Apollo stated that the product was manufactured by Hungary-based company BAC Consulting KFT using its Lebanese facilities and the exploded pagers merely bear Gold Apollo's brand labels. Gold Apollo claimed that the European firm started selling products under its brand three years ago.
In a written statement, Gold Apollo noted that according to the cooperation agreement of its long-term partnership with BAC, Gold Apollo authorizes BAC to "use [its] brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC."
Gold Apollo further stated that the AR-924 model mentioned in recent media reports is produced and sold by BAC, and that the company "only provides the brand trademark authorization and is not involved in the design or manufacturing of this product." Golden Apollo stresses that it "always complies with relevant regulations and maintains transparent and compliant partnerships with [its] collaborators."
About Gold Apollo
According to data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan (MOEA), Gold Apollo is a manufacturer engaged in wireless paging system production based in Xizhi, New Taipei City. Its factory in the same city was registered in August 2022.
Time, place of explosions
According to reports from media outlets including Reuters, Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkiye Today, and Barron's, the explosions occurred around 3:30 pm September 17 and lasted for about an hour. Explosions could be heard from Hezbollah strongholds including Dahiyeh and Bekaa Valley, with the detonation source being the pagers worn by the members of Hezbollah.
Security footage shows that the blasts were relatively contained and appeared only to wound the person wearing the pager or closest to it. No major damage to buildings was caused and no fires were started.
Cause of explosions
Hezbollah stated that it would conduct a "security and scientific investigation" on the incidents with some diplomatic and security sources speculating that the explosions could have been caused by the devices' batteries overheating. However, some experts questioned whether the overheating of batteries would be enough to cause the blasts, especially since their detonation times were so close.
Follow-up by the MOEA
Despite Gold Apollo's response, the MOEA, after its inquiries with the Taiwanese firm, gave out a different story stating that the company confirmed the pager's production and assembly were completed in Taiwan. The pager only has a receiving function, and the internal battery capacity is about that of a standard AA battery, making it almost impossible to explode and cause casualties. After reviewing media reports and images, the company believes the pager may have been modified after export.
Additionally, the Ministry's review of export data showed that from 2022 to August 2024, the company exported a total of 260,000 sets of pagers; 40,929 sets were exported from January to August 2024, with the primary export destinations being European and North American countries. The reported explosion did not occur with these products, and there is no record of direct exports to Lebanon. The MOEA will continue assisting the company in conducting further investigations.
