Watch: Israeli Missile Strikes Metres Behind Russian Reporter Live On Air In Lebanon
An Israeli airstrike came dangerously close to killing two journalists in southern Lebanon on Thursday, landing less than ten metres from where RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida were filming near Al-Qasmiya Bridge, close to a local military base.
The strike was captured on camera. Footage shows Sweeney dropping to the ground as smoke billows across the area around him. Both men are conscious and are being treated at a local hospital, RT reported. In a separate video, Rida can be seen joking with Sweeney that when a missile is incoming, “you can hear it.” A third clip shows doctors removing shrapnel from Sweeney’s arm.
Al-Qasmiya Bridge is a key crossing over the River Litani in southern Lebanon. Israel has intensified strikes on the area in recent days, destroying at least two bridges over the river. The Israeli military says the crossings were being used by Hezbollah to move fighters and weapons.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Thursday condemned the strike. She said an attack on journalists in press jackets “cannot be called accidental,” pointing to the deaths of over 200 correspondents in Gaza. Writing on Telegram, she noted that the rocket did not hit a military target but the exact spot where the journalists were shooting their report. Moscow, she added, is awaiting a response from the relevant international organisation.