Exploding pagers: Brit-educated woman linked to Hezbollah attacks 'goes into hiding'

Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono has been linked to the synchronised blasts successful Lebanon - thought to beryllium an onslaught connected Hezbollah by Israeli quality - and has since 'gone into hiding', her parent has said

Authorities are hunting a concern pistillate educated successful the UK implicit the bid of synchronised exploding pager attacks successful Lebanon.

Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono has been linked to Tuesday's attacks connected Hezbollah aft reports she supplied the pagers to Israeli quality agency, Mossad, and has not appeared publically since. The attacks, which killed astatine slightest 37, including 2 children, and wounded astir 3,000 others person been wide attributed to Israel.

The AR-924 pagers were being utilized by Hezbollah members erstwhile they simultaneously exploded connected Tuesday. While nether the Taiwanese marque Gold Apollo, the devices were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based successful the Hungarian superior of Budapest.

Ms Bársony-Arcidiacono, 49, was successful hiding guarded by the Hungarian concealed service, her parent Beatrix claimed speaking from her location successful Sicily. She told reporters her girl had received unspecified threats and was present being "protected by agents of the Hungarian government".

The 70-year-old said her girl was not knowingly progressive successful the plot, but "just a broker". "The items did not walk done Budapest ... They were not produced successful Hungary," she antecedently said. The parent told MailOnline nevertheless she had been advised not to speech to media "by the Hungarian concealed services".

Officials successful Budapest nevertheless person denied Beatrix's claims. Ms Bársony-Arcidiacono claimed connected her LinkedIn illustration to person been educated successful governmental subject astatine apical UK assemblage London School of Economics (LSE) arsenic good arsenic having a PhD successful physics from UCL. LSE nevertheless said it did not tally diplomas successful authorities successful the years she claimed she was there.

Speaking to US journalists earlier this week, Ms Bársony-Arcidiacono denied engagement successful the plot, claiming: "I don't marque the pagers. I americium conscionable the intermediate." The synchronised blasts are portion of a ramping up successful aggression successful the Middle East pursuing Hamas' October 7 attacks, which person since seen huge-scale unit against Palestinians successful what Israel claims is self-defence.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the walkie-talkie blasts, though CBS News reports US officials were alerted by Israel astir 20 minutes earlier the cognition successful Beirut.