Mystery over Hezbollah's exploding pagers deepens as Hungary insists devices that wounded thousands in Lebanon were never in the country despite claims Budapest firm built gadgets
Hungary insisted today that a Budapest firm linked to Hezbollah pagers that detonated in Lebanon yesterday had never built the gadgets in the country - as questions mount over how the devices laden with explosives reached the group in the Middle East.
Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said that BAC Consulting KFT has 'no manufacturing' site in the country, and that the devices used have never been on Hungarian soil.
'Authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary,' Mr Kovacs said on X, adding that the case 'poses no national security risk'.
The New York Times previously reported that Israel had hidden explosive material in a number of Taiwan-made Gold Apollo pagers before they were imported to Lebanon, citing American and other officials briefed on the operation.
But Gold Apollo executives this morning said the company had only authorised its brand on the devices, and that they were manufactured and sold by Hungary's BAC Consulting KFT.
Twelve people were killed and nearly 3,000 injured when pagers detonated across southern Lebanon yesterday afternoon. It is understood Hezbollah had brought in the devices in recent months to replace mobile phones, fearing Israeli hacking.
A photo taken on September 18, 2024, in Beirut's southern suburbs shows the remains of exploded pagers on display at an undisclosed location. Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon on September 17
Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, who studied in London and lists 'disaster management' as one of her skills, is listed as the Chief Executive of the Hungarian-based company BAC Consulting said to have supplied the devices to the Lebanese group
A man is injured after his pager exploded in Beirut on Tuesday
A man is injured after his pager exploded in Beirut on Tuesday
Hezbollah operatives appeared to have been caught off guard by the detonation of thousands of pagers on Tuesday.
Ambulances rushed through the southern suburbs of Beirut amid widespread panic, and hospitals were overwhelmed with patients.
Some were blinded in the attacks while others required amputations.
Israel and its military has not yet commented on the explosions, nor taken accountability for the attacks.
Lebanese authorities were quick to blame 'Israeli aggression' as Hezbollah vowed swift revenge - before unleashing its latest cross-border rocket assault this afternoon.
Still, mystery surrounds how the devices used by Hezbollah came to be equipped with explosives, apparently capable of being detonated remotely.
A security source told Reuters that up to three grams of explosives were hidden in the new pagers and had gone 'undetected' by Hezbollah for months.
And a senior Lebanese source said the devices had been modified by Israel's spy service 'at the production level.'
'The Mossad injected a board inside of the device that has explosive material that receives a code.
'It's very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner.'
The source added that the group had ordered 5,000 pagers made by Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but this was quickly shot down by the firm.
Gold Apollo's chair, Hsu Ching-kuang, told journalists Wednesday the firm has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years.
'According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,' Gold Apollo said in a statement.
BAC's parent company is registered to Cristiana Rosaria Bársony-Arcidiacono, whose describes herself on her LinkedIn page as a strategic advisor and business developer.
She has denied any involvement with the pagers and told a US TV station: 'I don't make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong.'
A hand shows the destroyed pager or paging device that exploded on September 17, 2024
The stunning incident saw scores of Hezbollah members severely injured throughout southern Lebanon and in its capital Beirut
Devices began beeping on Tuesday afternoon. Trying to turn them off caused detonation
Chaotic scenes inside hospitals in Lebanon are seen yesterday evening following blasts
Barsony-Arcidiacono appears to be the only employee of the company founded in 2022, according to legal documents consulted by AFP, which also report an annual revenue of 210 million forints ($590,000) and profit of around 18 million forints.
On an archived version of a currently inaccessible website, the consultancy described itself as 'agents of change with a network of consultants', while Barsony-Arcidiacono touted her experience as a 'strategic advisor' for international organisations.
The Times reported about 3,000 pagers were ordered from Gold Apollo, mostly its AR924 model.
'Our company only provides the brand trademark authorisation and is not involved in the design or manufacturing of this product,' Gold Apollo said.
The company declined to comment further, citing ongoing investigations.
'We have assigned the case to the chief prosecutor of the national security team to actively investigate. Our office will clarify the facts of the case as soon as possible,' Taipei's Shilin District Prosecutors Office said in a statement.
'If there is any illegality involved, it will be severely punished in accordance with the law,' the office added.
A source close to Hezbollah, asking not to be identified, previously told AFP that 'the pagers that exploded concern a shipment recently imported by Hezbollah of 1,000 devices' which appear to have been 'sabotaged at source'.
Hezbollah had only recently adopted pagers, fearing mobile phones might be too easy to hack.
Sources told Reuters that the group had begun to suspect that Israel was tracking their phones by the end of last year.
Senior Hezbollah execs stopped bringing their phones into meetings. Supporters were told to bury their phones or lock them away.
'Shut it off, bury it, put it in an iron chest and lock it up,' Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah told supporters in a televised address in February.
'Do it for the sake of security and to protect the blood and dignity of people.
'The collaborator (with the Israelis) is the cell phone in your hands, and those of your wife and your children. This cell phone is the collaborator and the killer.'
Two sources 'familiar with the group's operations' told Reuters earlier this year that pagers would be used as a low-tech means of communication in order to evade Israeli tracking.
The AR-924 pager ordered by Hezbollah, advertised as being 'rugged,' contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo's website before it was apparently taken down.
Pagers are still used by emergency services due to their resilience over mobile phones; modern systems overlap in their coverage, and with satellite communications to boot often prove more effective than cellular networks.
A street procession was held on Wednesday for the 10-year-old victim of the attack
People gather as smoke rises from a mobile shop in Sidon, Lebanon on September 18
Hand held radios also started exploding on Wednesday, after the pagers detonated Tuesday
Without GPS built in, they are also almost impossible to be location-tracked.
But intercepting older technology before it was imported may have allowed an adversary of Hezbollah to equip explosives to be detonated at a later date.
This afternoon, three people were killed and dozens injured after walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated across Beirut today - almost exactly 24 hours after the exploding pagers crippled some 2,800 people across Lebanon and Syria.
Handheld devices used by the group blew up in the country's south and southern suburbs of the capital, a security source told Reuters this afternoon.
At least one of the blasts reported took place near a funeral organised by Hezbollah for the victims of yesterday's shock attack, Reuters reported.
