Electronic Device Attack Continues in Lebanon

The attack targeting individuals using sabotaged electronic devices in Lebanon continued yesterday, with 20 people killed and more than 450 people injured. The second wave yesterday followed the initial attack on Tuesday that killed 12 people, including two children, and injured around 3,000 people.

Israeli officials have not commented on the attacks, with Reuters reporting security sources have said Israel’s Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, commonly known as Mossad, is responsible for the attack.

Device Manufacturer Responds

Gold Apollo, a Taiwan-based manufacturer, responded to reporters questioning the AR924 pagers used in the attack. Founder and president of Gold Apollo, Hsu Ching-kuang, stated they did not manufacture the sabotaged AR924 devices, stating:

The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it…. We may not be a large company but we are a responsible one…. This is very embarrassing.

In a press announcement, Gold Apollo said a Hungarian manufacturer licensed the brand, and stated they were responsible for the manufacturing of the products that were sabotaged:

U.S. Politicians React

In Washington, D.C., Representative Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) responded to citizens protesting civilian casualties and the death of children as a result of the Israeli attack, with Hageman asking, “Do you have your pagers on you?”

In response to the attack, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized the killing of children, and claimed the attack violates international law, stating on X:

Representative Brian Mast (R-Fla.) also responded to the attacks, sharing a satirical image. He also stated that the United States should not rely on products manufactured in China, associating U.S. reliance on Chinese products to Israel’s national intelligence agency compromising consumer electronic devices manufactured in Hungary, posting on X: