A year on, Lebanese maimed in Israel's pager attacks on long road to recovery

Israel rigged pagers, walkie-talkies to explode; blasts killed dozens, wounded thousands including children; victims still undergoing surgery

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Zainab Mustarah once spent her days running an events planning firm in Beirut.

But for the last year, she has been in and out of surgery to save the remnants of her right hand and both eyes, maimed when Israel detonated booby-trapped pagers in Lebanon.

On September 17, 2024, thousands of pagers carried by members of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah exploded simultaneously, followed the next day by booby-trapped walkie-talkies.

Thirty-nine people were killed and more than 3,400 wounded, including children and other civilians who were near the devices when they blew up but were not members of the Iran-backed group.

Mustarah, now 27, was one of the wounded. She told Reuters she was working from home when the pager, which belonged to a relative, beeped as if receiving a message. It exploded without her touching it, leaving her conscious but with severe wounds to her face and hand.

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