Nearly a year after thousands of pagers distributed to the Hezbollah group exploded across Lebanon, unintended victims there are still carrying scars, including children.
The attack was part of an Israeli operation against the Hezbollah militant group, which had started firing rockets into Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians following the Oct. 7 attack. AP told the stories of non-Hezbollah victims and delivered searing images of missing eyes and fingers, offering a rare glimpse into the human cost of the attack.
For weeks after the attack, The Associated Press attempted to reach survivors, who stayed out of the public eye. AP also contacted Hezbollah and its association treating those affected by the attacks to see if they could facilitate contacts.
A representative of Hezbollah’s Association of Wounded did share with AP the contacts of eight people who had expressed readiness to share their stories. AP independently contacted them, and Bassem Mroue and Sarah El Deeb were able to interview victims, including a Hezbollah fighter, a preacher and two children. All were still recovering, and some awaited further surgeries.
Photographer Hassan Ammar took images, including video and photo portraits of the injuries and daily life. Video was also taken by Fadi Tawil, who helped contribute to the strong visual presentation, with Malak Harb handling editing. The graphics team, led by Panagiotis Mouzakis, ensured that the striking images and text received an eye-catching presentation.
Because of the sensitivity of the story, Rob Rossi and Vicki Ferrar in AP Standards helped work on it throughout the process with news director Abby Sewell and the leadership team in the region.
The judges praised the team’s work with AP Standards early in the development of the story, given the sensitivity around it. Judges also lauded the source building and presentation.
For offering the first look by an international news outlet at how these survivors are still struggling to recover, and by doing it meticulously, Bassem Mroue, Sarah El Deeb, Hassan Ammar, Fadi Tawil, Malak Harb, Abby Sewell, Cara Anna and Panagiotis Mouzakis win this week’s first citation for Best of the Week.
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