Victims of Israel's pager terror attack on Lebanon mark a year of difficult recovery

On the first anniversary of Israel's pager attacks targeting Hezbollah members in Lebanon, survivors gathered in Ain El Mraiseh, northwest of downtown Beirut, in a show of resilience and defiance.

Chanting slogans like "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger" and "we have healed", survivors who were wounded in the attack gathered with victims' families, as well as members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and Hezbollah supporters to send a message that the injured have come back stronger than before, with some even resuming their military duties.

Wassim Karim even brought a cake to mark the day with his friends.

"This experience has made us stronger; we are not here today to relive the pain," Wassim told The New Arab.

On 17 September 2024, thousands of pagers simultaneously exploded across Lebanon and parts of Syria, resulting in at least 39 deaths and 3,500 injuries in what was described as an unprecedented security breach within Hezbollah.

Many of the victims were civilians and medical workers.

"I was on a family visit, playing with my sister's children," recalls Wassim. "I stepped out to answer a call when the pager exploded in my hand. That was the moment my journey of pain and suffering began."

Wassim lost four fingers and sight in one eye.

"But the hardest phase was not the moment of injury," he says, "but during the war, with the displacement."

Wassim says he struggled to commute between hospitals without any guarantees or security. When the war ended, the conditions improved, but the scars remain, and so is his resolve to avenge the atrocious Israeli attack.

At the march, Farah Abi Murshed, a South Lebanon activist and founder of NGO Noun Al-Damon (She for Solidarity) to support women in distress, described the Israeli attack as an "international war crime", calling on the Lebanese government to prepare a full legal case to prosecute Israel before international crimes tribunals and pursue the perpetrators.

Similarly, at the time, UN human rights experts have described the Israeli attack as a "terrifying" violation.

In a video message to the wounded to mark the anniversary, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the survivors are "pioneers of insight and keys of hope," and that their recovery and determination reflect a value greater than the wounds themselves.

"What the Israeli enemy wanted was to nullify your power. It wanted to remove you from the battle. Now you have entered it with greater strength and greater energy," said Qassem

Amid chants of "labbaik ya Nasrallah" (at your service Nasrallah, referring to previous Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah), Ahmad, who was wounded a year ago, recounted how he lost fingers on both hands when his pager exploded.

"But despite the pain, my determination grew," he remarked to TNA. "After the explosion, those who were hesitant about resistance became even more committed to the cause."

Ali Ibrahim, 37, lost his eyesight completely.

"But I chose to face pain with patience and willpower," Ibrahim told TNA. "Like many others, I healed spiritually and socially, and became an active member of my community."

"The enemy," he continued, "wanted us to collapse, but we decided to keep going. Like the mountains of Lebanon, storms cannot shake us down, and like the Phoenix, we too have risen from the ashes stronger than before."

He explains how he now lives his life normally, playing sports, caring for his daughters, pursuing a diploma in AI-driven data analysis, and leading humanitarian campaigns to support the poor.

"I am also studying Islamic sciences," he added. "What happened did not end us; it reestablished our roles and gave us unbreakable resolve."

Zeinab B., who preferred to use only her first name, remembers the fateful day clearly.

She says she was at Al-Hawra Recovery Centre to vaccinate her newborn son. 

"When the pager exploded in my husband's hands," she described to TNA, "my eye was injured and my baby was wounded."

Another device exploded nearby, she recalled, causing chaos and shock because everyone thought it was a drone attack.

Medical help arrived minutes later, she added, but she didn't realise what had happened until they reached the hospital.

Like Wassim, Zeinab says the healing journey was difficult at first, and even harder during the war, as patients often couldn't receive proper care on time. Zeinab lost her eye, unlike her friend, who was also seriously injured but was immediately transferred to Iraq for treatment.

Like many of the children wounded in the attack, Hussein Dehini and Sarah Jaffal, 12, who lost one eye and suffered damage to the other, insist on continuing their studies despite the pain.

"When the pagers exploded, our lives were turned upside down in an instant," Fatima Al-Miqdad recounted her memories of that fateful day in a Facebook post. "All I saw was thick smoke, dust everywhere, and the smell of gunpowder filling my lungs."

Both her young son and daughter, Mahdi and Zahraa, were seriously wounded, but after weeks of surgeries and "endless nights, screams of pain, rushing between hospitals", Zahraa slowly opened her eyes.

"Tears, joy, and pain all mixed together," wrote Al-Miqdad, "but the most important thing was that her spirit endured. Despite the loss and loneliness, our families and children stand firm. We will not give up, we will uphold the truth and pray for steadfastness until the end."

This article is published in collaboration with Egab.