On-Cam: RT reporter narrowly escapes Israeli strike in Lebanon; Russia slams 'targeted' attack

Tensions between Moscow and Jerusalem have escalated after a Russian state-run RT (Russia Today) television crew was wounded during an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. The incident, captured on a live broadcast, has prompted a fierce response from the Kremlin, which claims the attack was a deliberate attempt to silence media coverage of the ongoing conflict.

Footage released shows RT correspondent wearing blue bulletproof vests clearly marked with "PRESS." The reporter and a cameraman were struck by shrapnel. RT has confirmed that while both men were hospitalised, they are conscious and receiving medical attention for their injuries.

Why is Russia calling the strike "deliberate"?

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took to Telegram to condemn the strike, explicitly linking it to a broader pattern of violence against the media. "Given the killing of 200 journalists in Gaza, today's events cannot be called accidental," Zakharova stated.

She argued that the missile did not hit a "strategic military facility" but targeted a specific location where a media report was being filmed. The Russian Embassy in Beirut has since called for an "appropriate investigation," labelling attacks on media workers as "unacceptable" under international law.

What was the IDF’s justification for the Qasmiya bridge strike?

The Israeli military said it had in recent days "targeted Litani River crossings that Hezbollah used for both terrorist movement and to transfer thousands of weapons, including rockets and rocket launchers".

"In footage released in the past few hours, a journalist is seen at the 'Qasmiya' crossing. An explicit warning had been issued regarding this area," the IDF said in a statement.

"The crossing was struck after sufficient time had passed since warnings," the IDF added.

The Israeli military regularly says it "has never and will never deliberately target journalists".

The strike comes on the heels of a grim report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which revealed that a record 129 journalists were killed worldwide in 2025. According to the CPJ, Israel was responsible for two-thirds of those deaths, the majority occurring in the Gaza Strip.