Russia Today journalist Steve Sweeney a few seconds before the Israeli attack in South Lebanon, on March 19, 2026. Screenshot.
BEIRUT — The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Israeli Ambassador Oded Joseph to Moscow on Friday, a day after an Israeli strike wounded a Russia Today (RT) television crew reporting in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported.
On Thursday, the ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said the circumstances suggest the attack on the journalists was "deliberate and targeted," calling it a "blatant violation of international law."
The two RT journalists, Briton Steeve Sweeney and his Lebanese cameraman Ali Sbaity, were broadcasting live on Thursday in front of the Qasmieh Bridge, north of Sour, spanning the Litani River, which had already been partially destroyed by Israeli airstrikes the previous day.
A second strike targeted the same bridge while the news crew was just a few meters away.
In a video shared on social media, Steeve Sweeney also condemned what he called a "deliberate" attack on journalists covering the conflict, saying it was an attempt to silence them.
