British journalist Steve Sweeney has claimed Israel ‘tried to kill him’ in a targeted airstrike that left him and his cameraman with minor injuries.
The Russia Today correspondent was reporting near a local military base in southern Lebanon when a missile struck the ground just metres behind him.
Footage of the incident, which was captured by cameraman Ali Rida, shows Sweeney presenting a piece to camera before he ducks down as a missile smashes into the ground behind him.
Sweeney and Rida are knocked to the floor by the force of the blast, with both men lightly wounded following the incident.
Posting on social media hours after the strike, Sweeney accused Israel of trying to kill him in a ‘deliberate’ attack and claimed the country of a committing war crimes by ‘targeting’ journalists.
‘This was a deliberate targeted attack against journalists, no doubt about it,’ the reporter said. ‘But if they think they are going to silence us, if they think we are going to stay out of the field, they are very very much mistaken.
Sweeney also revealed the strike left a piece of shrapnel ‘deeply embedded’ in his arm which had to be removed in hospital.
The strike came hours after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) warned they would be striking bridges over the Litani River to eliminate ‘Hezbollah movements under civilian cover’.
Targeting clearly identified members of the press is a war crime under international humanitarian law.
British journalist Steve Sweeney is seen moments before a missile struck the ground just feet behind him in southern Lebanon
Footage of the huge explosion was captured by cameraman Ali Rida while Sweeney was reporting
Responding to the footage, the IDF said it had published warnings ‘to ensure that civilians distance themselves from the crossings, in order to reduce civilian harm’.
It added that an ‘explicit warning’ had been issued in the area Sweeney was filming and claimed the crossing was struck after ‘sufficient time had passed since the warnings were issued.
Israel has struck multiple bridges over the Litani River, which divides the south in two, this week.
Around 14 percent of Lebanese territory is under Israeli evacuation warnings, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Lebanese authorities said more than one million people have been displaced since the war began on March 2.
The Russian embassy in Lebanon said that ‘attacks on media workers on editorial assignments are unacceptable’ and called for an ‘appropriate investigation’ into the incident.
A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said last month, blaming Israel for two-thirds of the deaths.
The Israeli military regularly says it ‘has never and will never deliberately target journalists’.