Survivors of Israel’s pager attack on Hezbollah last year struggle to recover

BazourIEH, Lebanon (AP) – Head of the head with a cold, Sarah Jaffal woke up late and mixed with the kitchen. The silence of the apartment was drilled with a foreign buzz of a call device lying next to a table.

Uncomfortable but curious, a 21 -year -old family member received the device. He saw a message: “Error”, then “Press OK.”

Jaffal had no time to answer. He didn’t even hear the explosion.

“Suddenly everything was dark,” he said. “I felt I was in a jacuzzi.” He was in and out of consciousness for hours, blood flow from his mouth, suffering at his fingertips.

At that moment on September 17, 2024, Thousands of calls distribution Hezbollah The group was flying remotely in homes, offices, shops and façades in Lebanon. It exploded by Israel. For almost a year, Hezbollah rockets to Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

After years of planning, Israel infiltrated the most powerful Hezbollah supply chain of Iran’s armed deputies in the Middle East. In an operation aiming to disrupt the communication networks of the Iran -backed group, he used shell companies to sell fraudulent devices to Hezbollah’s commercial partners. to harm and direct their members.

It was striking within the scope of the pulling machine attack. He wounded more than 3,000 people, including both children and killed 12 people.

Israel boasts as a demonstration of technological and intelligence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently presented US President Donald Trump as a gift with a gold call device.

However, Human Rights and United Nations reports say that the attack may have violated international law and called it randomly.

Hezbollah, a large Shiite political party with a large social institution network, admitted that most of the wounded and killed were warriors or staff. However, simultaneous explosions in populated regions have wounded many civilians, such as Jaffal, one of the four women who had medical treatment in Iran. Hezbollah will not say how many civilians have been injured, but he says that most group’s staff are workers in Hezbollah -related institutions, including relatives or hospitals.

Ten months later, the survivors are on a slow and painful path for recovery. Signs of the moment they control the buzzing devices – faces, scars, scars, hands with missing fingers can be easily defined. The scars mark them as a possible Hezbollah member or dependent.

Rare interviews

For weeks from the attack, Associated Press tried to reach survivors who were far from the eyes of the people. Many spent weeks other than Lebanon for medical treatment. Hezbollah investigating the major security violation of the group’s strictly attached community remained silent.

The AP also contacted Hezbollah and its relationship and to see whether they can facilitate contacts to those affected by attacks. The group, which has been in war with Israel for decades, is also one of the most powerful political groups in Lebanon, and members hold approximately 10% of the parliamentary seats and two ministries. It has its own security device and provides comprehensive health, religious and other social and commercial services in South and East Lebanon and parts of Beirut.

The representative of Hezbollah’s injured association shared the contacts of eight people who stated that they were ready to share their stories with AP. The AP independently contacted them and six of them agreed to meet. Jaffal and another woman, two 12 -year -old children and two boys, one preacher, and the other was a warrior.

They are all family members of Hezbollah officials or warriors. They’re all lost fingers. Shrapnel was placed under his skin. The men were blind. Each of women and children lost one eye, the other was damaged.

There was no Minders and no question was deported. Some refused to answer questions about the identity or role of the owner of the call device and described them only as relatives.

The interview hours offered a rare look at the human wage of the attack. The survivors explained how the calls who are buzzing without interruption exploded when they pushed a button or not pressing them. Some said his ears still stole without the explosion.

University graduate Jaffal, “I have never imagined that I can tolerate, I have suffered a lot of pain,” he said.

The survivors continuously support Hezbollah, but accepted the security violation. They accused Israel for their wounds.

Right groups argued that the attack was random because the calls exploded in populated areas and it was almost impossible to know who held the devices or where they were when they exploded. Preacher Mustafa Choeib remembered that two young girls had played with the call device and sometimes found them among their toys.

Israel’s MOSSAD Spy Agency refused to comment on the AP questions about these claims. However, Israeli security officials rejected the attack, saying that the calls were sold only to Hezbollah members and tests were performed to ensure that the person holding the call device was damaged.

A turning point for Hezbollah

The callers were an opening strike in an Israeli campaign that would injure Hezbollah.

Hezbollah The radio exploded According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, another Israeli attack that killed at least 25 people and injured more than 600. Israel then launched an air strike campaign that killed the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah And hundreds of militants and civilians. War One truce In November.

Nine months later, Israel stunned and weakened Iran with an air strike campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear areas, senior military officials and the symbols of the holding of the Islamic Republic.

In the meantime, Hezbollah hugged. In addition to the military coup, the group was left to thousands of financial and psychological burdens in need of long -term medical treatment and healing.

Pages is commonly seen as outdated, but it was the main part of Hezbollah’s communication network. Nasrallah had repeatedly warned against his mobile phones. Israel said it can easily follow them.

The old Caller broke down, ordered the group new ones. Israel sold fraudulent devices Shell companies.

According to a Hezbollah official, the group ordered 15,000 call machines. Only 8,000 arrived and almost half were distributed to members. In Türkiye, Lebanon was targeted for others. Days after the attack when Hezbollah overthrew the authorities there.

Hezbollah’s investigation into how the communication networks leaked, said that the purchase of fraudulent calls was due to negligence and his authorities were cleared of suspicions of cooperation with Israel and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.

Some Hezbollah members complained that new calls were very cumbersome. Some did not use them because the batteries were quickly died or heated.

Hospitals were like a ‘slaughterhouse’

Simultaneous explosions spread chaos and panic In Lebanon. Hospitals were overwhelmed.

Zeinab Mestrah was like a “slaughterhouse”.

Until he reached a hospital, Mestrah thought that an explosion in an electrical cable, a relative’s call device, the Hezbollah member blinded him.

“People did not know each other. Families were shouting to describe the names of their relatives.

Doctors mainly stopped their bleeding. Five days later, the 26 -year -old interior decorator and event planner went to Iran for treatment. His right eye was rescued, shrapnel was removed.

The first thing he saw after the 10 -day darkness was his mother. He also lost the clues of three fingers in his right hand. His ears are still playing today.

Mestrah said that his healing delayed his plans to find a new career. He realizes that he cannot continue the old one.

The next thing he looks for is his wedding for his eight -year fiancée.

“It’s half of my recovery,” he said.

Hezbollah’s wounded association representative, none of the injured, he said. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not have the authority to address the media.

Hezbollah fighter hit

Mahdi Sheri, a 23 -year -old Hezbollah fighter, was ordered to the front on the day of the attack. He blamed the call device before leaving and spent time with your family. For safety, no mobile phone was allowed at home while there.

There were many drones in the sky that day.

His surroundings usually trembled. This time he made a beep sound. Hezbollah approached to control the warnings or directives. He saw the message “error”, then “Press OK.” The request followed.

He felt sharp pain in his head and eyes. His bed was covered with blood. Thinking he had been shot by a drone, he stumbled outside and fainted.

He was first treated in Syria, and then hospitals in Lebanon were treated in Iraq while struggling to address a large number of patients. Shrapnel was removed from the left eye socket and the prosthetic eye was attached.

For a while, he could see shadows with the remaining eye. Over time, this was the decision. He can’t play football anymore. Hezbollah helps him find a new job. Sheri now realizes that it is impossible to find a role with Hezbollah fighters.

He asked if he wanted to continue his fiancée. Refused. One month after his injury, they got married during a video meeting when he was in Iraq.

Yolum Nothing stopped on our way, Sheri Sheri said. He moves between the southern suburbs of Southern Lebanon and Beirut, where his wife lives and works to become a nurse.

The community was shaken. Some kids are afraid to come to their father.

“It affects not only us, but also the people around us.”

A child with a face full of scars

In Southern Lebanon, 12 -year -old Hussein Dheini received a call device of his father, a member of Hezbollah. The explosion cost the child to his right eye and damaged his left. He flew up the ends of two fingers in his right hand. In his left hand, pinkish and middle finger remains.

His teeth exploded. His grandmother took them off the couch with the tip of his nose.

“This was a nightmare,” his mother said Faten Haidar.

The child, the Group’s Youth Movement Hezbollah scouts, was talented while reading the Qur’an. Now he’s fighting to keep up with his breath. He can read it with one eye, but it runs out quickly. The family moved to the ground floor to climb less stairs.

Now wearing glasses. Pink marks cross your face and restructured nose. He spends more time with other injured children like him and goes to school only for exams. He cannot go to swim with his father because he can damage the wounds of sea or river water.

“Previously, I used to spend a lot of time on my phone. I used to run and go to school,” the boy said. “Now I’m going to Beirut”.

Impatient to rebuild a life

Jaffal underwent 45 surgery in nine months. More will come, including reconstructive surgery on the face and fingers. Two fingers are fused. Four is missing.

The prosthesis is waiting for the right eye. More surgery was delayed on his left. Although he relys more memory than the vision, he can recognize the people and places he knows.

It disrupts the direction of loss of feeling at the fingertips. Nervous pain is sharp elsewhere. The weekly physiotherapy reminds him how ahead he is still.

The driver is leaning on his faith to call his curious woman patience.

“God is loading us with what we can carry,” he said.

Hezbollah spoke at religious meetings with his invitation to the healing and flexibility. His greatest fear becomes dependent.

A career he wanted to explore – a career he wanted to explore. Although they are now blurry, they are watching videos on their phone.

He likes to lead the giggling and victims to facilitate the discomfort, because he can see better than most.

“I forget my wounds when I see another injured,” he said.

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Josef Fededan, Associated Press writer in Jerusalem, contributed to this report.