IDF strike injures journalists at Lebanon’s Litani, after army warning it would hit area |
Journalists reporting from an area of south Lebanon that Israel had warned it would target were lightly injured in an Israel Defense Forces strike there on Thursday, as Hezbollah continued firing rockets and drones and Israeli troops moved ever-deeper into the territory.
Footage showed an English-language correspondent for the Russian channel RT reporting from the Litani River in southern Lebanon when an Israeli strike hit close by him.
In the video, the reporter can be seen speaking to the camera before suddenly ducking away just seconds before the strike. The camera is then knocked down to the ground by the force of the blast.
RT later said that Lebanon bureau chief Steve Sweeney and the camera operator were lightly wounded in the strike.
“Guys, we are fine. Turns out you can hear the missile when it’s flying at you,” said cameraman Ali Rida, according to TASS.
Warning: The clip features profanity:
WATCH: Israeli airstrike near RT reporter. RT reports its correspondent Steve Sweeney and a cameraman were wounded in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon today.Lebanon’s state news agency says two journalists were lightly injured during an IDF strike on the al-Qasmiya bridge. pic.twitter.com/6Wn9M3tpcI — Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 19, 2026
WATCH: Israeli airstrike near RT reporter. RT reports its correspondent Steve Sweeney and a cameraman were wounded in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon today.Lebanon’s state news agency says two journalists were lightly injured during an IDF strike on the al-Qasmiya bridge. pic.twitter.com/6Wn9M3tpcI
— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 19, 2026
On Wednesday, the IDF had warned it was expected to strike bridges over the Litani due to “Hezbollah movements under civilian cover.”
After the footage was published from Thursday’s strike, the IDF issued a statement saying the incident had happened at Qasmiya Bridge, stressing that the crossing — alongside others — has been used by Hezbollah for military purposes and had been included in its Wednesday warning.
The army said it struck the bridge area twice, including around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.
“The IDF calls on the residents of Lebanon to heed the warnings published on various platforms. The IDF does not target civilians or journalists and operates in accordance with international law,” it said.
Russia condemned the strike.
“Given the killing of 200 journalists in Gaza, today’s events cannot be called accidental,” the Russian foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram, without naming Israel, and using a tally that Israel says includes many Gazans presenting as journalists who also had verified links to terror groups.
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.
Hezbollah kept up its frequent rocket and drone fire at Israel and IDF forces in southern Lebanon on Thursday, though with no reports of injuries or major damage.
In recent days, Hezbollah has been firing an average of about 150 rockets per day, according to the IDF.
Roughly two-thirds of the daily rocket fire has been directed at Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon and along the border, with the remaining third aimed at Israel.
Clashes in southern Lebanon
The IDF announced on Monday that it had launched “limited” ground operations in Lebanon.
A Lebanese military source told AFP on Thursday that the Israeli army was advancing slowly and “systematically destroying” the border villages it enters.
More than 20 Hezbollah operatives were killed by ground troops and in airstrikes amid the operations in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the IDF said on Thursday.
In one incident, soldiers of the Golani Brigade identified a cell of Hezbollah operatives attempting to fire anti-tank missiles at the forces. The IDF said the troops killed five operatives in that incident.
The military said ground troops also located numerous weapons, including RPGs and anti-tank missiles.
The IDF has been preparing to deploy even more forces in southern Lebanon and further expand its buffer zone to push away the threat of Hezbollah from the border. Israel has issued warnings to all residents south of the Zahrani River, more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border — and north of the Litani — to evacuate, and has said it wants to create a buffer zone in Lebanon to protect residents of northern Israel.
חיסולים מהאוויר והתקלויות פנים מול פנים: כוחות אוגדה 36 וחיל האוויר חיסלו יותר מ-20 מחבלים ביממה האחרונה בדרום לבנון כוחות אוגדה 36 ממשיכים בפעילות הקרקעית הממוקדת בדרום לבנון. אתמול, כוחות צוות הקרב של חטיבת גולני, זיהו בשני אירועים שונים חוליות מחבלים חמושים מארגון הטרור… pic.twitter.com/U8d1eEnRhU — צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 19, 2026
חיסולים מהאוויר והתקלויות פנים מול פנים: כוחות אוגדה 36 וחיל האוויר חיסלו יותר מ-20 מחבלים ביממה האחרונה בדרום לבנון
כוחות אוגדה 36 ממשיכים בפעילות הקרקעית הממוקדת בדרום לבנון.
אתמול, כוחות צוות הקרב של חטיבת גולני, זיהו בשני אירועים שונים חוליות מחבלים חמושים מארגון הטרור… pic.twitter.com/U8d1eEnRhU
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 19, 2026
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a “violent night” in Khiam and Taybeh, saying the towns were “targeted by several airstrikes and subjected to heavy artillery shelling that continued until dawn” on Thursday.
In recent days, Hezbollah has reported targeting Israeli forces on the border with Lebanon and inside Lebanese towns such as Khiam.
The town overlooks part of southern Lebanon and northern Israel and was the first point into which Israeli forces advanced at the start of the war. It was also the site of intense clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah during their last war in 2024.
The Lebanese military source on the ground, who requested anonymity, told AFP that Israeli soldiers “have almost captured the town.”
“They advance one or two kilometers a day and take the time to systematically destroy the towns they enter, such as Kfar Kila or Aitaroun,” he added. “They bulldoze what is not destroyed by airstrikes or artillery,” while “they are engaged in ground fighting against Hezbollah, whose men are fighting in small groups.”
Lebanon’s health ministry claimed Thursday that Israeli attacks had killed 1,001 people in the country since Hezbollah initiated the war’s resumption on March 2, raising a previous toll of 968 a day earlier.
The new ministry statement claimed the toll included 79 women, 118 children and 40 health workers, with 2,584 other people wounded.
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