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.

Lebanon made a game-changing decision by tasking the Army with preparing a plan to enforce a state monopoly on weapons, poses a new challenge to Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said Wednesday that it would treat a Lebanese government decision to disarm the militant group "as if it did not exist", accusing the cabinet of committing a "grave sin".

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the Lebanese cabinet meet to discuss efforts to bring all weapons in the country under the control of the state, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda,