NEW YORK, September 19. /TASS/. Israel has been for a long time preparing a complex operation to blow up pagers in Lebanon and has in advance established a bogus company to produce communication devices with explosives, The New York Times reported citing sources.

According to them, Israelis stand behind the pager explosions. The newspaper also noted that Israel created a fake company that was pretending to be an international pager manufacturer.

Budapest-based BAC Consulting "was part of an Israeli front," the sources said. The newspaper also noted that at least two other front companies were set up to conceal the identities of Israeli intelligence officers involved in the operation.

Multiple explosions of communication devices occurred in Lebanon on September 17 and 18. On the first day, a large number of pagers blew up almost simultaneously in various regions of Lebanon. According to the country’s Health Ministry, 12 people, including two children, were killed, and 2,800 more were hospitalized. On the following day, a new wave of blasts swept across Lebanon. This time, walkie-talkies, phones, fingerprint scanners, as well as devices operating on solar and lithium-ion batteries exploded. At least 20 were killed and 460 were injured in the repeat attack.