Pagers Explode Around Lebanon; Israel Blamed & Manufacturer Identified As Hungarian

First: yes, people still use pagers.

Second: pagers can apparently be used as bombs:

A company based in Hungary was responsible for manufacturing the pagers that exploded in an apparent Israeli operation targeting Hezbollah, another firm said Wednesday. The attack marked a new escalation in the conflict between the two foes that has often threatened to escalate into all-out war.

Pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah exploded nearly simultaneously a day earlier in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least 12 people, including two children, and wounding around 2,800. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel.

An American official said Israel briefed the United States on Tuesday after the attack, in which small amounts of explosive hidden in the pagers were detonated. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information publicly.

The sophisticated apparently remote attack renewed fears that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza could spill into a wider regional conflict.

Hamas’ ally Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged fire nearly daily since Oct. 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led assault in southern Israel triggered the war. Since then, hundreds have been killed in the strikes in Lebanon and dozens in Israel, while tens of thousands on each side of the border have been displaced.

Despite periodic cycles of escalation, Hezbollah and Israel have carefully avoided an all-out war, but Israeli leaders have issued a series of warnings in recent weeks that they might increase operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

srael began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to an official with knowledge of the movements who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The AR-924 pagers used Tuesday’s attack were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, according to a statement released by Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese firm that authorized the use of its brand on the pagers.

BAC appeared to be a shell company.

[SNIP]

BAC is registered to Cristiana Rosaria Bársony-Arcidiacono, whose describes herself on her LinkedIn page as a strategic advisor and business developer. Among other positions, Bársony-Arcidiacono says on the page that she has served on the board of directors of the Earth Child Institute, a sustainability group. The group does not list Bársony-Arcidiacono as among its board members on its website.

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