PHOTO ESSAY: Portraits of survivors of Israel's pager attack on Hezbollah last year

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5 days ago

BAZOURIEH, Lebanon (AP) — On Sept. 17, 2024, thousands of pagers distributed to the Hezbollah group exploded across Lebanon, remotely detonated by Israel and aimed at disrupting the Iran-backed group as it fired almost daily at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The pager attack wounded more than 3,000 people and killed 12, including two children. Hezbollah has acknowledged that most were among its personnel, which includes fighters as well as politicians, religious leaders and service providers.
Israel boasted of its prowess. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented U.S. President Donald Trump with a golden pager as a gift.
Human rights groups have called the attack indiscriminate, saying international law prohibits the use of booby traps. Israeli security officials have rejected that allegation, saying the pagers were exclusively sold to Hezbollah members.
Over 10 months later, survivors are easily identifiable, with missing eyes, faces laced with scars, hands with missing fingers.
For weeks after the attack, The Associated Press attempted to reach survivors in the tight-knit community. The AP also contacted Hezbollah and its association treating those affected. A representative of the association shared the contacts of eight people who expressed readiness to talk.
The AP independently reached out. Six agreed to be interviewed. They spoke without a Hezbollah representative present — offering a rare glimpse into the human cost of the attack.
Sarah Jaffal
Her head heavy with a cold, Jaffal woke up late and shuffled into the kitchen. The silence of the apartment was pierced by the unfamiliar buzzing of a pager lying near a table.
Annoyed but curious, the 21-year-old picked up the device belonging to her relative, a Hezbollah member. She saw a message: 'Error,' then 'Press OK.'
'Suddenly everything went dark,' Jaffal said. She was in and out of consciousness for hours, blood streaming from her mouth.
She has had 45 surgeries. More will come, including reconstructive surgery on her face and fingers. Two fingers are fused. Four are missing. She is waiting for a prosthetic right eye. Physiotherapy reminds her how much is still ahead.
She leans on her faith to summon patience.
'God only burdens us with what we can bear,' she said.
Zeinab Mestrah
The simultaneous explosions spread chaos and panic in Lebanon. Hospitals were overwhelmed.
It was like a 'slaughterhouse,' said Mestrah, who had picked up the pager of a relative, a Hezbollah member. 'People didn't recognize each other. Families were shouting out their relatives' names to identify them.'
Her right eye was saved, with shrapnel removed. The first thing she saw after 10 days of darkness was her mother.
She lost the tips of three fingers on her right hand. Her ears still ring today.
Mestrah, a 26-year-old event planner, said her recovery has delayed plans to find a new career. But she looks forward to her wedding, to her fiance of eight years.
'He is half my recovery,' she said.
Mahdi Sheri
Sheri, a 23-year-old Hezbollah fighter, had been ordered back to the frontline on the day of the attack. Before leaving, he spent time with family.
His pager usually vibrated. This time, it beeped. He approached to check for Hezbollah warnings or directives. Then he felt sharp pain.
He was first treated in Syria, then in Iraq. Shrapnel was removed from his left eye socket and he had a prosthetic eye installed.
Now Hezbollah is helping him find a new job. He asked his fiancée if she wanted to move on. She refused. They married during a video call while he was in Iraq.
Some children now fear coming near their fathers, he said: 'It not only affects us but also those around us.'
Hussein Dheini
In southern Lebanon, 12-year-old Dheini picked up the pager that belonged to his father, a Hezbollah member. 'Usually when (the pager) rings, I give it to my dad, but this was a strange ring,' the boy said.
Dheini lost his right eye. His teeth were blown out. His grandmother picked them off the couch.
'It was a nightmare,' said his mother, Faten Haidar.
The boy, a member of Hezbollah scouts, the group's youth movement, had been talented at reciting the Quran. Now he struggles to pace his breathing. The family has moved to a ground-floor apartment so he climbs fewer stairs.
Pink scars crisscross his face. He spends more time with other children injured like him.
'I used to run and go to school,' the boy said. 'Now I go to Beirut' for treatment.
Mustafa Choeib
The 35-year-old preacher had put on his glasses after hours of reading, and they deflected some shrapnel from the blast. Still, he was blinded, and lost three fingers.
Now he recalls how his two young daughters — Mariam, 4, and Fatima, 3 — had often played with his pager. Sometimes he found it among their toys. It was not immediately clear why he had one. Hezbollah officials said the pagers were not only in the hands of fighters but also with group administrators. Choeib delivered religious lessons to Hezbollah members.
He has resumed his work as a teacher at a Shiite religious school. But he remains on edge. His car has an alarm almost identical to the sound that the pager made before it exploded — a regular reminder of the attack.
He sometimes worries that his mobile phone will blow up, too.
'After losing my eyes I don't want to lose my ears,' he joked.
Ali Abbas
The 12-year-old boy picked up the pager of his father, one of Hezbollah's personnel. At first, his family thought the television had exploded.
The paramedics made him spit out the blood filling his mouth after the explosion so he would not suffocate. While he was in intensive care, relatives back home found fingers and his left eye.
The family was displaced after the blast. When the boy returned to their newly rented apartment, the landlord saw him, panicked and asked them to leave, fearing Israel would target them again. At their next rented place, the boy was kept out of sight.
After 10 surgeries, Abbas was able to rejoin his friends at Hezbollah's scouts. They inspected his injuries.
'My friends have gotten used to me,' he said. He is expecting more surgeries.
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This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.