A war correspondent from Britain and his cameraman narrowly escaped a close encounter with an Israeli missile while broadcasting live. Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida, employed by Russia Today (RT), sustained injuries from shrapnel during an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon. According to RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, the incident occurred when an IDF aircraft targeted the car carrying Sweeney and Rida as they crossed a bridge in the southern region. Both individuals are currently hospitalized and undergoing assessments for shrapnel injuries. The editor emphasized that journalists covering conflicts should not be legitimate targets and conveyed prayers for their recovery.
Video footage captured the intense moment when Sweeney took cover as a missile landed just a few meters behind him. Rida, in the same footage, seemed to drop his camera, which captured debris and shrapnel falling. The strike reportedly occurred near Al-Qasmiya Bridge, which spans the Litani River.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) informed RT that they had issued warnings to avoid the crossings before the airstrikes. The IDF stated that despite prior explicit warnings regarding the area, the Qasmiya crossing was targeted after an ample time lapse following the warnings. The IDF clarified that their operations comply with international law and reiterated that civilians and journalists are not intentional targets.
In a subsequent video shared on his account, Sweeney described the airstrike as a precise attack by an Israeli fighter jet, labeling it as a deliberate and targeted assault on journalists. He disclosed that both he and Rida received medical treatment for their injuries, with Sweeney showing a shrapnel piece removed from his arm.
Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes on southern Lebanon and the southern outskirts of Beirut, regions where Hezbollah is prominent but also inhabited by a large civilian population. Israeli ground forces have advanced deeper into southern Lebanon, urging residents to evacuate as they escalate their offensive against Hezbollah.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, over 1,000 individuals have lost their lives in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since the onset of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. The International Rescue Committee reported that approximately one million Lebanese people have been displaced within two weeks, highlighting that the actual number might be higher due to unregistered individuals.
In the conflict, two Israeli soldiers have died in combat in southern Lebanon, while at least 12 individuals in Israel have been killed in Iranian missile attacks.
