Two individuals connected to Taiwanese companies have been questioned as part of an investigation into pagers that exploded while being used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, investigators confirmed on Friday.

Senior officials stressed that the devices were not manufactured in Taiwan.

The origins of the devices and how they reached the militant group have become a topic of intense speculation after hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, leading to the deaths of at least 37 people and injuring nearly 3,000.

A report from The New York Times this week claimed that Israel had placed explosive materials in a shipment of pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, citing anonymous American and other officials.

Local media identified one of the individuals questioned as Wu Yu-jen, a representative linked to BAC Consulting KFT. Wu had reportedly established a Taipei-based company named "Apollo Systems."

In a statement on Friday, prosecutors from Taipei's Shilin district confirmed their seriousness about the case. "We instructed the Investigation Bureau's national security division to question two individuals from Taiwanese companies as witnesses yesterday," they said.

Both witnesses were released after several rounds of questioning.

"We aim to clarify whether Taiwanese companies were involved in this incident," the prosecutors' office added. Investigators also searched four sites, including Gold Apollo's headquarters in Xizhi, New Taipei City, and another location in Taipei's Neihu district, where Apollo Systems is registered. The company was founded in April this year, according to the registry.

Wu remained silent when questioned by reporters on Thursday, according to local television footage.

Economic Minister Kuo Jyh-huei addressed the issue on Friday, stating that Gold Apollo’s pagers, made in Taiwan, contained "low-end IC (integrated circuits) and batteries" and were not capable of exploding. He emphasized that Gold Apollo had exported 260,000 pagers in the last two years without any reports of similar incidents.

Regarding the devices used by Hezbollah, Kuo firmly stated, "We can confirm that these pagers were not produced in Taiwan."

Taiwan's Premier, Cho Jung-tai, also reiterated that neither the company nor Taiwan had directly exported pagers to Lebanon.

Earlier in the week, Gold Apollo had clarified that the pager model referenced in media reports was actually produced and sold by BAC Consulting KFT.

However, a Hungarian government spokesperson noted that BAC Consulting KFT acted as a trading intermediary and did not have any manufacturing or operational facilities in Hungary. Meanwhile, Gold Apollo's chairman, Hsu Ching-kuang, denied producing the devices, instead attributing them to BAC Consulting KFT, which had been granted permission to use Gold Apollo’s trademark.