Blood on the Streets, People Left Behind

September 17, 2025. Blood flowed through the streets of Beirut, Lebanon. Pagers exploded simultaneously across the city, killing at least 20 people and injuring over 3,000. This attack, carried out by Israel targeting Hezbollah, was not a simple military operation. It was deliberate terrorism designed to paralyze civilian society as a whole.

One year later, Lebanese media outlet Al-Manar reflected on the incident under the headline "A National Disgrace of Negligence." While the Lebanese government quickly activated emergency medical systems during the explosions, long-term treatment and rehabilitation of the injured have been essentially dumped onto Hezbollah-affiliated medical institutions.

Unprecedented Attack, Unprecedented Injuries

The characteristic of this attack was its focus on maiming rather than killing. War surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta analyzed: "Israel chose to destroy lives instead of ending them." In reality, approximately 300 of the injured were blinded, including 11 women and 7 children. Hundreds lost their hands or arms.

Immediately after the explosions, Lebanon's Ministry of Health performed over 500 emergency surgeries. Even urologists and cardiac surgeons were mobilized to stop bleeding and close wounds. However, once the emergency phase ended, so did government support. Patients requiring long-term care had no choice but to depend on private organizations like Hezbollah's 'Foundation for the Wounded' and 'Islamic Health Organization.'

Abandoned Victims

The Lebanese government announced a 'Long-term Treatment Program' on September 27, ten days after the explosions, led by the Ministry of Health and Beirut Medical Association. They opened dedicated clinics at Rafik Hariri National Hospital and Baabda National Hospital, and established committees of ophthalmology and plastic surgery specialists.

However, actual operations were limited. Most patients were still treated the same as general patients, bearing the full burden of treatment costs themselves. While some major university hospitals upheld humanitarian principles, systematic state-level support was absent.

Al-Manar criticized: "Even though hundreds lost their eyes and hands, the state dumped patients onto their community organizations after emergency management. This is neither exceptional nor new, but it represents the most blatant abandonment for a response to an unprecedented crime."

Structural Limitations of Lebanon's Healthcare System

This incident revealed Lebanon's deep political and social divisions. Since the 2019 economic crisis, the Lebanese government has been unable to provide even basic public services. Most infrastructure including electricity, water, and healthcare depends on sectarian and political party organizations.

Hezbollah has built an independent healthcare and welfare system centered on the Shia community. Most victims of this pager attack are receiving treatment and rehabilitation within this system. However, a structure where political party organizations rather than the state take responsibility for mass terror victims is fundamentally unsustainable.

Lebanon's Ministry of Health has still not issued an official comprehensive report or long-term support plan for this incident. Basic administrative procedures such as victim registration, disability classification, and compensation systems have not been established.

Future Outlook [AI Analysis]

As long as Lebanon's political paralysis continues, systematic state-level support for victims is likely to remain difficult. Under the current sectarian political structure, allocating state budget for Hezbollah supporters is a politically sensitive matter.

International humanitarian aid could be an alternative, but international assistance to Lebanon has already decreased significantly since 2019. Furthermore, given that this incident is part of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, active intervention by Western countries will inevitably be limited.

Ultimately, hundreds of blinded individuals and thousands of disabled people will likely depend long-term on sectarian-based welfare systems. This will further deepen divisions in Lebanese society while potentially leading to additional weakening of state functions.

Meanwhile, concerns have been raised that this attack method could set a precedent for a new form of warfare weaponizing civilian communication devices in future conflicts. While clearly a war crime under international law, practical punishment or deterrence mechanisms are absent.