{"id":26946,"date":"2026-03-19T16:57:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/26946\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:57:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:57:07","slug":"israeli-strike-injures-russia-today-crew-in-southern-lebanon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/26946\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli strike injures Russia Today crew in southern Lebanon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amman, March 19, 2026 \u2014 The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an investigation into the apparent targeting<\/a> of Steve Sweeney<\/a>, a British correspondent for Russia Today, and his camera operator Ali Rida Sbeity<\/a>, who were injured when an Israeli air strike hit just feet<\/a> away from where they were filming while wearing clearly marked press gear and with their equipment clearly visible in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The journalists, who were covering Israel\u2019s renewed attacks after the break out of the Iran war<\/a> from the Qasmiyeh bridge, north of the city of Tyre, were taken to a nearby hospital and treated for shrapnel<\/a> wounds. Sbeity later told an RT anchor live on air that he believes they had been targeted<\/a>, as they were standing in plain sight and their vehicle was marked as press.<\/p>\n

\u201cJournalists are civilians and must never be targeted \u2013 this is a clear binding legal obligation,\u201d said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah.\u201cStriking 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said<\/a> that \u201cgiven the killing<\/a> of around two hundred journalists in Gaza, the day\u2019s events could not be described as accidental, especially that the missile did not hit an important strategic military facility, but rather a filming location.\u201d<\/p>\n

This attack comes a day after an Israeli strike on the home of Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV journalist Mohamed Sherri<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

CPJ emailed the Israeli Defense Forces\u2019 North America Media Desk for comment on the Thursday strike, but did not receive a response at the time of publication. In a post<\/a> on X, the IDF acknowledged the strike at the bridge, noting footage of a journalist at the scene, adding that it had given prior \u201cexplicit warning\u201d for civilians to leave the area. \u201cThe IDF does not target civilians or journalists and operates in accordance with international law,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

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