Several thousand wounded, the number of dead is growing - a massacre, and "traces" lead to our neighbors

"The AR-924 pagers used by the militants (Hezbollah) were manufactured by 'BAC Consulting KFT', based in Budapest. Under the cooperation agreement, we authorized BAC to use our trademark to sell the product in certain regions, but the design and manufacture of the product are exclusively their responsibility", stated in the statement of Gold Apollo, reports AP.

President of Gold Apollo, Hsu Ching-kuang told reporters today that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but no evidence of the agreement was provided.

Pagers used by hundreds of members of the Hezbollah militant group exploded almost simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria yesterday, killing at least 12 people, including an eight-year-old girl, and wounding more than 2,000.

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for the attack. The explosions mostly occurred in areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence, particularly in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon, as well as in Damascus, said an official with the group, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Experts believe explosive material was placed in the pagers before they were shipped and used.

The AR-924 pager contained a rechargeable lithium battery and could receive text messages of up to 100 characters. Its battery lasted up to 85 days.

According to the AP, this was crucial in Lebanon, where blackouts are common in years of economic collapse.

They also operate on a different wireless network than cell phones, which makes them more resilient in an emergency, the US agency writes.