The president and founder of a Taiwanese pager company linked to the detonation of thousands of pagers targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon was questioned by prosecutors late into the night on Thursday, then released.

Israel’s operation against Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria through booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies was years in the making, and its use now ramped up a high-risk campaign aimed at deeply disrupting the group.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did say on Wednesday, however, that his country's war with Iran's so-called proxy groups in the region had entered a "new phase," announcing a shift to the north of Israel after 11 months of intense conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Taiwan's government and Bulgarian authorities Friday both denied making the exploding pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The attack came hours after Hezbollah fired 140 rockets at northern Israel and follows this week's deadly explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members.

The Israeli military said it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday, shortly before the movement's leader was due to give a speech. It also said the military chief of staff had approved plans for Israel's north,