Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 20:32, 29 September 2024

The Gold Apollo AR924 is an alphanumeric one-way pager in a taco form factor sold under the brandname of the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo.

The pager is notable for 5,000 sabotaged units purchased by Hezbollah having been detonated simultaneously on 17 September 2024 while being viewed a few seconds after receiving an apparent message from the group, although according to a statement published by Gold Apollo on their web page on 18 September 2024, they are not the manufacturer of the device used in these explosions, and had instead licensed the brand to the Hungarian company BAC Consulting.

Specification of original and modified pager

The PC-programmable and hand-programmable pager weighs 90 g, and is 7.3cm wide, 5cm high, and 2.7cm thick. It has four buttons with two-way scrolling, a four-line LCD screen, and a removable lithium battery, rechargeable via a USB-C connector, lasting up to 85 days with 2.5 hours of charging.

The AR924 allows the user to store up to 30 messages with a maximum length of 100 characters. Its data transfer rate is 512/1200/2400 bit/s for POCSAG.

The modified pager had space sufficient for a small explosive charge, sufficient to cause serious or fatal injury when held close to the face, and is believed to have beeped for several seconds at 15:30 local time on 17 September 2024, giving time to be brought near the face to read an expected message from Hezbollah, then detonating.

Sales

The AR924 model is not available for sale in Taiwan nor the United States. More broadly, direct exports of Gold Apollo-manufactured pagers from Taiwan amount to some 260,000 sets between the start of 2022 and August 2024 (including over 40,000 between January and August 2024), mostly to the United States, Hong Kong and Australia, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The ministry's figures recorded no direct exports of any Gold Apollo-manufactured pagers from Taiwan to Lebanon during the same period, however indirect exports via third parties could not be ruled out.

Israeli manufacturing and explosions in Lebanon

Israeli intelligence personnel are believed to have manufactured the pagers that were shipped to Hezbollah included with explosives in the battery.

On 17 September 2024, some 5,000 AR924 pagers exploded almost simultaneously in Lebanon and parts of Syria, at around 3:30 pm local time, killing 12 people and injuring over 2,750. The explosions appeared to be a co-ordinated attack against the Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group Hezbollah. Reportedly, some 500 Hezbollah members lost their eyesight in the explosions - however, no further elaboration on this number was provided.

Initially-circulated photos of the damaged pagers showed components displaying the logo of Gold Apollo, leading to online speculation that the pagers involved had originated from its factories in Taiwan.

The following day, Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-Kuang told reporters in Taiwan that the company did not manufacture the pagers involved in the explosions, but that they were made by its long-term partner, the Hungary-based company BAC Consulting KFT, under a licence that had been in place for three years. BAC Consulting KFT cooperated with Gold Apollo and represented many of its products. However, Gold Apollo did not provide any evidence of the contract. German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) visited BAC's official address in Budapest but found only a sheet of paper on the door with the company name; the doorbell was not answered. Dw cited the New York Times, which reported that BAC and at least two other shell companies were part of an Israeli front, intended to obscure links to Israeli intelligence officers. The CEO of BAC Consultancy said that they were intermediaries, not involved in manufacturing the devices.

See also

• Casio F-91W § Usage in terrorism
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 § Battery explosions and recalls

References

1. ^ "Rugged Pager AR924". Gold Apollo. Archived from the original on 17 Sep 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
2. "Gold Apollo Rugged Pager AR924". Apollo Systems HK. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024.
3. 【Introduction】Gold Apollo Rugged Pager AR924【AR924】Rugged Pager【Gold Apollo】 (YouTube video). Apollo Systems HK. December 13, 2022. Archived from the original on September 18, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
4. "Gold Apollo Co., Ltd, Statement". Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
5. "Taiwan Company Tries to Distance Itself From Pagers Used in Lebanon Attack". New York Times. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
6. Sabbagh, Dan; Bayer, Lili; Milmo, Dan (18 September 2024). "Pager and walkie-talkie attacks on Hezbollah were audacious and carefully planned". The Guardian. Article includes a diagram of the pager.
7. "What we know about the Taiwanese firm caught up in Lebanon's exploding pagers attack". CNN. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
8. "Taiwanese company Gold Apollo says it didn't make pagers used in Lebanon". Washington Post. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
9. "How Israel Built a Modern-Day Trojan Horse: Exploding Pagers". The New York Times.
10. Sabbagh, Dan (2024-09-19). "Israeli front-controlled manufacturing process likeliest explanation for attacks on Hezbollah". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
11. ^ Belam, Martin; Lowe, Yohannes; Chao-Fong, Léonie; Ambrose, Tom; Graham-Harrison, Emma; Sabbagh, Dan; Wintour, Patrick (17 September 2024). "Lebanon attacks 'an extremely concerning escalation', says UN official, as Hezbollah threatens retaliation – live". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
12. "Hezbollah official: Exploded pagers were a new brand, replaced cellphones at Nasrallah's order". The Times of Israel. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
13. "Exploding Hezbollah devices reportedly issued in recent days". i24NEWS. 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
14. "Some 500 Hezbollah members lost eyesight in pager explosions". The Times of Israel. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
15. ^ "Taiwan's Gold Apollo Says Hezbollah Pagers Made By Hungary Partner," Barrons.
16. "Hungarian firm tied to pager blasts in Lebanon unmasked". Ynetnews. 18 September 2024.
17. "Gold Apollo says it did not make pagers used in Lebanon explosions". Reuters. 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
18. "Taiwanese Company Disavows Links to Exploding Pagers in Lebanon and Syria," Time.
19. "Taiwan’s Gold Apollo says Hezbollah pagers made by Hungary partner BAC," Al Arabiya.
20. "Lebanon pager blasts: Budapest-based BAC Consulting KFT under scrutiny". Mint. 18 September 2024.
21. Pandey, Ashutosh; Chaika, Anna (18 September 2024). "Two European firms in focus of Hezbollah pager explosions". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 18 September 2024. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
22. "British-educated businesswoman denies making Hezbollah pagers which killed 12 people". The Independent. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.

External links

• "Rugged Pager AR924". Gold Apollo. 8 November 2022. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023.

• Pagers