Hezbollah device explosions: The unanswered questions

After thousands of pagers and vigor devices exploded successful 2 abstracted incidents successful Lebanon - injuring thousands of radical and sidesplitting astatine slightest 37 - details are inactive being pieced unneurotic arsenic to however specified an cognition was carried out.

Lebanon and Hezbollah, whose members and connection systems were targeted, person blamed Israel – though Israel is yet to comment.

The BBC has followed a way from Taiwan, to Japan, Hungary, Israel and backmost to Lebanon.

Here are the unanswered questions.

Some aboriginal speculation suggested that the pagers could person been targeted by a analyzable hack that caused them to explode. But that mentation was rapidly dismissed by experts.

To origin harm connected the standard that they did, it is probable they were rigged with explosives earlier they entered Hezbollah’s possession, experts say.

Images of the breached remains of the pagers amusement the logo of a tiny Taiwanese electronics manufacturer: Gold Apollo.

The BBC visited the company’s offices, situated connected a ample concern parkland successful a nondescript suburb of Taipei.

The company's founder, Hsu Ching-Kuang, seemed shocked. He denied the concern had thing to bash with the operation.

“You look astatine the pictures from Lebanon,” helium told reporters extracurricular his firm's offices. "They don’t person immoderate people saying Made successful Taiwan connected them, we did not marque those pagers!”

Instead - helium pointed to a Hungarian company: BAC Consulting.

Mr Hsu said that 3 years agone helium had licensed Gold Apollo’s trademark to BAC, allowing them to usage Gold Apollo’s sanction connected their ain pagers.

He said the wealth transfers from BAC had been "very strange" - and that determination had been problems with the payments, which had travel from the Middle East.

The BBC went to the registered bureau of BAC Consulting, situated successful a residential country of the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

The code appeared to beryllium shared by 12 different companies - and no-one successful the gathering could archer america thing astir BAC Consulting astatine all.

Officials successful Hungary accidental the firm, which was archetypal incorporated successful 2022, was simply a “trading intermediary with nary manufacturing oregon operational site” successful the country.

A brochure for BAC, published connected LinkedIn, lists 8 organisations it claims to person worked with - including the UK Department for International Development (DfID).

The UK Foreign Office - which has taken connected DfID's responsibilities - told the BBC it was successful the process of investigating. But based connected archetypal conversations, it said it did not person immoderate engagement with BAC.

BAC's website listed 1 idiosyncratic arsenic its main enforcement and laminitis - Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono.

The BBC made respective attempts to interaction Ms Bársony-Arcidiacono, but were incapable to scope her.

However, she did reportedly talk to NBC News, saying: "I don’t marque the pagers. I americium conscionable the intermediate.”

So who is truly down BAC Consulting?

The New York Times has reported that the institution was successful information a beforehand for Israeli intelligence.

The newspaper, citing 3 Israeli officials, said that 2 different ammunition companies were created to assistance fell the identities of the radical who were truly producing the pagers: Israeli quality officers.

The BBC has not been capable to independently verify these reports - but we bash cognize that Bulgarian authorities person present begun investigating different institution linked to BAC.

Bulgarian broadcaster bTV reported connected Thursday that 1.6 cardinal euros ($1.8m; £1.3m) connected to the instrumentality attacks successful Lebanon passed done Bulgaria and was aboriginal sent to Hungary.

The origins of the vigor devices, which exploded successful the 2nd question of attacks, are little clear.

We cognize that astatine slightest immoderate of those that exploded were the IC-V82 exemplary produced by the Japanese company, ICOM.

Those devices were purchased by Hezbollah 5 months ago, according to a information root speaking to Reuters quality agency.

Earlier, a income enforcement astatine the US subsidiary of Icom told rhe Associated Press quality bureau that the exploded vigor devices successful Lebanon appeared to beryllium knockoff products that were not made by the institution – adding that it was casual to find counterfeit versions online.

It took the BBC a substance of seconds to find Icom IC-V82s listed for merchantability successful online marketplaces.

ICOM said successful a connection it had stopped manufacturing and selling the exemplary astir a decennary ago, successful October 2014 - and said it had besides discontinued accumulation of the batteries needed to run it.

The institution said it does not outsource manufacturing overseas - and each its radios are produced astatine a mill successful Western Japan.

According to Kyodo quality agency, Icom manager Yoshiki Enomoyo suggested that photos of the harm astir the artillery compartment of the exploded walkie-talkies suggest they whitethorn person been retrofitted with explosives.

• Japan steadfast says it stopped making walkie-talkies utilized successful Lebanon blasts

Videos amusement victims reaching into their pockets successful the seconds earlier the devices detonated, causing chaos successful streets, shops and homes crossed the country.

Lebanese authorities person concluded that the devices were detonated by "electronic messages" sent to them, according to a missive by the Lebanese ngo to the UN, seen by Reuters quality agency.

Citing US officials, the New York Times said that the pagers received messages that appeared to beryllium coming from Hezbollah's enactment earlier detonating. The messages alternatively appeared to trigger the devices, the outlet reported.

We bash not yet cognize what benignant of connection was sent to the vigor devices.

This is the question galore successful Lebanon are present asking - paranoid that different devices, cameras, phones oregon laptops could person besides been rigged with explosives.

The Lebanese Army has been connected the streets of Beirut utilizing a remote-controlled weaponry disposal robot to transportation retired controlled explosions.

BBC crews successful Lebanon person been stopped and told to not usage their phones oregon cameras.

"Everyone is conscionable panicking… We don’t cognize if we tin enactment adjacent to our laptops, our phones. Everything seems similar a information astatine this point, and no-one knows what to do,” 1 woman, Ghida, told a BBC correspondent.

• 'We don’t cognize if our phones are safe': Lebanon connected borderline aft exploding instrumentality attacks

There are respective theories arsenic to wherefore the devices were triggered to detonate this week.

One is that Israel chose this infinitesimal to nonstop a devastating connection to Hezbollah, pursuing astir a twelvemonth of escalating cross-border hostilities aft Hezbollah fired rockets astatine oregon astir bluish Israel a time aft the Hamas onslaught of 7 October.

The different is that Israel did not mean to enactment its program successful question astatine this moment, but was forced to aft fearing the crippled was astir to beryllium exposed.

According to US outlet Axios, the archetypal program was for the pager onslaught to beryllium the opening salvo of an all-out warfare arsenic a mode to effort to cripple Hezbollah’s fighters.

But, it says, aft Israel learned that Hezbollah had go suspicious, it chose to transportation retired the onslaught early.