Hezbollah’s exploding pagers reportedly altered in Taiwan under Israeli supervision
On Tuesday simultaneous explosions in Lebanon involving pagers used by Hezbollah members resulted in nine deaths and 2,800 injuries, with 400 in critical condition.
The cause of the blasts remains unclear, but reports suggest the devices were manufactured in Taiwan, where explosives were allegedly inserted.
Produced in Taiwan
According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, Iran commissioned Taiwanese manufacturer, Apollo Paging Electronics, to produce the pagers. The hardware and software were reportedly altered under Israeli intelligence supervision in Taiwan before being delivered to Iran.
It is further alleged that the batteries in these devices contained 20 grams of explosives and were acquired five months ago. A total of 5,000 such pagers are said to exist, with Iran reportedly distributing them to Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health confirmed that 11, including a child, were killed and 4,000 people were injured in the explosions, around 400 of whom are in critical condition.
Israel has yet to issue a statement regarding the incident, but the Lebanese government and Hezbollah blame Israel for the attack.