Israeli strike injures Russia Today crew in southern Lebanon

Amman, March 19, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an investigation into the apparent targeting of Steve Sweeney, a British correspondent for Russia Today, and his camera operator Ali Rida Sbeity, who were injured when an Israeli air strike hit just feet away from where they were filming while wearing clearly marked press gear and with their equipment clearly visible in southern Lebanon.

The journalists, who were covering Israel’s renewed attacks after the break out of the Iran war from the Qasmiyeh bridge, north of the city of Tyre, were taken to a nearby hospital and treated for shrapnel wounds. Sbeity later told an RT anchor live on air that he believes they had been targeted, as they were standing in plain sight and their vehicle was marked as press.

“Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted – this is a clear binding legal obligation,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah.“Striking reporters who are clearly marked as a press constitutes a violation of international law. The Israeli military has repeatedly failed to protect them, raising serious concerns about compliance with its legal obligations. 

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said that “given the killing of around two hundred journalists in Gaza, the day’s events could not be described as accidental, especially that the missile did not hit an important strategic military facility, but rather a filming location.”

This attack comes a day after an Israeli strike on the home of Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV journalist Mohamed Sherri in Zuqaq al-Blat, central Beirut, killing him, his wife, and injuring his son Yasser Sherri, an editor at the Iraqi Hezbollah-affiliated Aletejah channel.

CPJ emailed the Israeli Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk for comment on the Thursday strike, but did not receive a response at the time of publication. In a post on X, the IDF acknowledged the strike at the bridge, noting footage of a journalist at the scene, adding that it had given prior “explicit warning” for civilians to leave the area. “The IDF does not target civilians or journalists and operates in accordance with international law,” it said.