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.

For weeks after the attack, The Associated Press attempted to reach survivors, who stayed out of the public eye. Many spent weeks outside Lebanon for medical treatment. Most in the group’s tight-knit community remained quiet while Hezbollah investigated the massive security breach.

Hezbollah has admitted none of its fighters wounded in Israel’s unprecedented pager attacks last year have properly recovered.