Horrifying footage shows the moment a British journalist reporting n Lebanon nearly escaped an Israeli missile strike, which the journalist calls a “deliberate attack” on press.
The now-viral clip shows RT News correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman, Ali Rida, barely dodging an Israeli airstrike as they filmed in southern Lebanon.
Rida’s camera captured the exact moment of the airstrike as he filmed Sweeney’s report. Seconds into the clip, Sweeney and Rida hear the incoming missile, look into the sky, and run to take cover as strike lands less than ten meters (or 32 feet) behind them, according to RT News.
Sweeney and his team said an Israeli aircraft dropped a missile exactly on their filming site near the Al-Qasmiya Bridge, not too far from a local military base. Sweeney said Israeli forces “deliberately attacked” him and his crew despite wearing their uniforms, labeling them as “press.” He continued to call out the attack and issue a reminder that harming journalists and civilians is a war crime.
Rida also shared footage of doctors removing shrapnel from Sweeney’s arm. In a separate video, Rida confirmed that he and Sweeney were both fine. He even cracked a joke and said, “It turns out that when a missile is flying at you, you can hear it.”
RT News Journalist Nearly Escapes Israeli Airstrike While Reporting In Lebanon
In an interview with Rick Sanchez’s ‘The Sanchez Effect,’ Sweeney said:
“I’m amazed that we survived. We were incredibly lucky to come away with the injuries we did. This was a deliberate, targeted attack. There is no question about it.”
Elsewhere, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned Israel over the airstrike. Zakharova said the attack on journalists wearing press gear isn’t accidental due to “the killing of two hundred journalists in Gaza.”
Zakharova added, “Especially since the rocket did not hit a ‘significant strategic military facility’, but rather the location where the report was being filmed.” She continued to reveal that Moscow is “awaiting the response of international organizations.”
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