Components of pagers used in Lebanon blasts did not come from Taiwan, minister says | Israel-Palestine conflict

The chief executive of Taiwan-based Gold Apollo has been released after being questioned over his role in deadly explosions.

Components used in thousands of pagers that detonated in Lebanon on Tuesday in a deadly blow to Hezbollah were not made in Taiwan, Taiwan's economics minister said.

Taiwan-based Gold Apollo said this week that it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack and that Budapest-based company BAC, which has been credited with originating the pagers, is licensed to use its brand.

It was not clear how or when the pagers were used as weapons so they could be detonated remotely. The same was true of the hundreds of portable radios used by Hezbollah that exploded on Wednesday in a second wave of attacks. The two incidents killed 37 people and wounded about 3,000 in Lebanon.

“The components are (mainly) low-end integrated circuits and batteries,” Taiwanese Economic Minister Kuo Jyh-huei told reporters on Friday.

Asked whether the exploding pager parts were made in Taiwan, he said: “I can say with certainty that they were not made in Taiwan,” adding that the case is being investigated by judicial authorities.

Security sources said Israel was responsible for Tuesday's pager explosions, which raised tensions in the conflict between the two sides. Israel has not commented directly on the attacks.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, also speaking to reporters in parliament, replied “no” when asked if he had met the de facto Israeli ambassador to express concerns about the case.

“We are asking our overseas missions to enhance their security awareness and exchange relevant information with other countries,” Lin said.

As Taiwanese authorities investigate any potential links between its extensive global technology supply chains and the devices used in the attacks in Lebanon, Gold Apollo chairman and founder Hsu Ching-kuang was questioned by prosecutors late into the night on Thursday and then released.

Another person who was also in the prosecutor's office was Teresa Wu, the only employee of a company called Apollo System, who did not speak to reporters because she left late on Thursday.

Hsu said this week that a person named Teresa had been one of his contacts for the BAC deal.

A spokesman for the Shilin District Prosecutor's Office in Taipei told Reuters news agency that they had questioned two people as witnesses and had received consent to conduct searches at four of their company locations in Taiwan as part of their investigation.

“We will try to determine whether there was any possible involvement of these Taiwanese companies as soon as possible, to ensure the safety of the country and its people,” the spokesman said.

Hezbollah, which is aligned with Iran, has vowed to retaliate against Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for the blasts. The two sides have been locked in a cross-border war since the conflict in Gaza erupted last October.