RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida were wounded Thursday when an Israeli airstrike hit the Al-Qasmiya Bridge area in southern Lebanon, where the two were reporting on Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operations along the Litani River.
Footage posted to X appears to show Sweeney lurching forward as an explosion detonates directly behind him. Rida’s camera topples as Sweeney ducks for cover. Both men were conscious and taken to a hospital in the area for treatment, RT reported.
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⚡️#BREAKING The moment Irish journalist Steve Sweeney and his colleague Ali from the Russian RT channel were targeted by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/SKvXDLlLEG
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 19, 2026
Rida, speaking on video after the strike, accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting the crew. “The Israeli enemy targeted us deliberately at Qasmiyeh Bridge, while we were wearing official [press] uniforms,” he said.
❗️Israeli army ‘DELIBERATELY’ targets RT crew despite clearly marked press uniforms — injured Ali Rida reports from southern Lebanon https://t.co/5Elgars8i2 pic.twitter.com/zOqxULSxcu
— RT (@RT_com) March 19, 2026
The accusation has not been independently verified. RT is a Kremlin-controlled outlet with a documented record of state-aligned reporting.
Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, posted a warning to X before the strikes, instructing residents near the crossings to move north of the Zahrani River. “For your safety, you must continue moving to the area north of the Zahrani River and refrain from any movement southward that may put your lives at risk,” Adraee stated.
#عاجل ‼️انذار عاجل إلى سكان جنوب لبنان
🔸نظرًا لأنشطة حزب الله ونقل عناصر إرهابية إلى جنوب لبنان برعاية السكان المدنيين يضطر جيش الدفاع إلى قيام باستهداف واسع ودقيق لأنشطة حزب الله الارهابية.🔸بناء على ذلك، ولمنع نقل تعزيزات ووسائل قتالية ينوي جيش الدفاع مهاجمة معابر على نهر… pic.twitter.com/a1VgORTW3q
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 18, 2026
“The crossing was struck after sufficient time had passed since warnings,” the IDF stated. “The IDF does not target civilians or journalists and operates in accordance with international law.” The IDF said it was striking Litani River crossings it assessed Hezbollah used for weapons transfers and troop movement.
⭕️ The IDF has targeted Litani River crossings that Hezbollah used for both terrorist movement and to transfer thousands of weapons, including rockets and rocket launchers, intended to be used against IDF troops and Israeli civilians in terrorist attacks.
Prior to the strikes,…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 19, 2026
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the strike deliberate in a statement posted to Telegram. “A strike on the location where RT journalists were reporting in Lebanon cannot be considered accidental,” a ministry spokesperson said, adding that Russia expected a response from UNESCO and relevant international organizations.
The Russian Embassy in Lebanon issued a parallel statement. “It is difficult to believe that the incident was an accident,” the embassy stated. “Attacks on media workers on editorial assignments are unacceptable.”
RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan wrote on X that Sweeney had been wounded and that both men were conscious in hospital. “War journalists are not legitimate targets,” she stated.
Our correspondent Steve Sweeney has been wounded by an Israeli strike in Lebanon.
He says an IDF plane fired upon the car carrying Steve and his cameraman, as they were crossing a bridge in the south of the country.
Both men are conscious in hospital, doctors are diagnosing… pic.twitter.com/Lv1TCLC6oN
— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) March 19, 2026
Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon killed at least 45 people and injured more than 100 in the two days preceding Thursday, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health reported.
