Journalist From the Frontlines Responds to Israel’s Attempt to Assassinate Him on Camera

British journalist Steve Sweeney and his cameraman were targeted by an Israeli GBU-38 missile fired from an F-16 jet while reporting on a previously destroyed bridge in southern Lebanon. Sweeney believes this was a deliberate assassination attempt, citing his clearly marked press vehicle, press jackets, and Israel's advanced surveillance capabilities, which would have identified them. The bridge had no military objective, reinforcing the claim of intentional targeting.

We were in a clearly identified press vehicle. We had, as you can see in the footage, we had our press jackets on. Israel has the most advanced military technology anywhere in the world... It knows everything that happens in the South of Lebanon. It knows every vehicle. It knows every number plate... There was no military objective in targeting that bridge. It was already destroyed.

Israel is accused of systematically destroying bridges vital for connecting southern Lebanon, Christian holy sites like St. Peter's burial place (Shemun Ar-Saffah), and Greek Catholic churches, including one where eight emergency workers were killed. This destruction is framed as deliberate, not accidental, and aimed at erasing Lebanese cultural and religious heritage.

Israel had issued these evacuation orders. It said that it was going to bomb every single bridge in south Lebanon... The Israeli military bombed St. Peter's burial site... This wasn't accidentally targeted... This was a deliberately targeted attack. On the tomb of Saint Peter... We were in a place called Derdegaia... a Greek Catholic church and again that was destroyed during the 66 day war. They killed eight people that had taken shelter inside there.

Israeli forces are allegedly targeting medical staff and facilities in Lebanon, with over 50 medical workers killed and hospitals partially destroyed. Ambulances, which are supposed to be protected under international law, are reportedly being targeted, leading many to remove their protective logos to reduce risk. Israel's justification, that Hezbollah uses medical facilities for military purposes, is dismissed by Sweeney as unsubstantiated.

The Israelis are now targeting medical staff. More than 50 have been killed. Hospitals, including the one we attended... part of that has been destroyed... the logo on the top of the ambulances... instead of giving them protection it now places them at risk. So many of them have removed those logos.

Sweeney asserts that the British and US governments are actively complicit in Israeli actions by supplying weapons and political support. He claims his own British government has persecuted him for his journalism with RT, detaining him at Heathrow and investigating him for "potential terrorist activity" based on his reporting from Lebanon, Yemen, and Donbass, while offering no support after the alleged assassination attempt.

Britain is well involved in that supply chain. So some of the kind of the add-on equipment that enabled them to carry out that strike against me is almost certainly provided by the British government... I was detained on a family visit last July at Heathrow airport... They're still now currently investigating me for potential terrorist activity based on my journalism.

Sweeney criticizes Western media (BBC, CNN, Sky News) for engaging in "stenography" and "copy and paste reports" that strictly adhere to government narratives, particularly regarding Ukraine and the Middle East. He claims this narrative control makes independent journalism impossible in the West. In contrast, he states that RT provides him with "complete freedom to report exactly what I want," without editorial interference, allowing him to expose truths not covered by mainstream outlets.

The Ukraine conflict is the most propagandized war in history... there was no space to offer anything that was different from the narrative of the Western governments... I ended up at Russia today after that because I saw that my independence as a journalist and my ability to report on the truth had completely disappeared... I have complete freedom to report exactly what I want and nobody tells me what to say.