A photo shows the remains of exploded pagers on display in Beirut. AFP

Gulf Today Report

The wireless communication Pagers that exploded in Lebanon have become the talk of the world, and there are widespread questions about their manufacture and how they exploded, at a time when the American network ABC News and the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted an American intelligence source as saying that Israel had a hand in manufacturing the "Pager".

15 years of planning

The intelligence source explained that the Israeli planning for this type of penetration of the supply chain continued for about 15 years.

Media outlets had previously reported that the Israeli intelligence agency (Mossad) was behind booby-trapping the "Pager" devices with explosive materials.

The American source added to "ABC News" that "the planning for the attack included fake companies,” with what he described as "multiple layers of Israeli intelligence officers,” indicating that "some of those involved in the manufacturing did not know who they were working for."

According to the New York Times, about 3 grams of explosives and a remote start switch were planted in the pagers that exploded.

The American source stated that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had long been reluctant to use this tactic, because “the risk to civilians was very high.”

Battery Bomb

A Lebanese source familiar with the components of the walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, which exploded this week, told Reuters that the batteries of these devices were mixed with a highly explosive compound. The source stated that the way the explosive material was planted in the battery made it extremely difficult to detect.

Taiwan, Bulgaria, Hungary Deny

Authorities in Taiwan and Bulgaria denied on Friday their involvement in the supply chain of thousands of walkie-talkies and pagers that exploded on Tuesday in Lebanon in a major blow to Hizbollah. It is not yet clear how or when the communication devices were booby-trapped so that they could be detonated remotely.

Answering these questions requires investigations in Taiwan, Bulgaria, Norway and Romania.

The Hungarian government spokesman was quoted by AP News as saying that the pagers were never in Hungary and that the company was a commercial intermediary, with no manufacturing or operating site in Hungary.

Interrogation in Taiwan

On the other hand, Taiwanese prosecutors questioned the chairman and founder of the pager company on Thursday evening and later released him.

The chairman and founder of the Taiwan-based Gold Apollo company, Shu-Ching Kuang, said that the company did not manufacture the devices used in the attack, but rather that they were manufactured by Budapest-based BAC, which has a license to use its brand. In the same context, Taiwan's economy minister said on Friday that there are components used in making the pager that were not made in Taiwan, adding that judicial authorities are investigating the matter.