Two journalists from the Russian state broadcaster RT, including correspondent Steve Sweeney, were injured Thursday in an Israeli missile strike in southern Lebanon. The incident occurred amid an expanding Israeli military campaign in the country, a direct spillover of the broader regional conflict that began in late February.
Sweeney and his cameraman sustained shrapnel wounds and were hospitalized following the strike at the Qasmiyeh Bridge on the Litani River. The crew was conducting a live broadcast to document previous damage to the site when a subsequent munition hit the area.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the attack in a statement on Telegram, emphasizing that the crew members were wearing clearly marked press vests and were not operating near a strategic military facility. She demanded formal inquiries from international organizations regarding the strike.
“Given the killing of 200 journalists in Gaza, today’s events cannot be called accidental,” Zakharova stated on Telegram. “We are waiting for the reaction of international organizations!”
Lebanese authorities report that at least 968 people have been killed and 2,432 injured in Israeli strikes across Lebanon since the current military escalation intensified on March 2.
The strike follows previous incidents involving media personnel in southern Lebanon. In October 2023, an Israeli tank shell killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and injured six other journalists. Subsequent investigations by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch concluded that the journalists were clearly identifiable as press personnel.