Comment by the official representative of the Foreign Ministry of Russia M.V. Zakharova in connection
Russian Foreign Ministry On March 19 : The Israeli Air Force missile attack in southern Lebanon, the staff of the RT channel filming crew, who were on an editorial mission there, were wounded. Reporter S. Sweeny and cameraman A. Reed were provided with necessary medical attention to the victims of the ammunition explosion in the immediate vicinity of the filming location.
We wish them a speedy recovery.
The missile shell was used by the Israeli military on unarmed civilians, to whom, according to international humanitarian law, are equated by media representatives. On the clothes of the shooting team there were easily distinguishable inscriptions “press”, they only had cameras and microphones in their hands, and the blow came to a site where there were no military objects.
All of these circumstances testify in favor of the fact that the attack on journalists was deliberately and purposeful, which is also confirmed by the footage of the detonation of the ammunition caught in the camera.
We consider such actions by the Israeli side and its military as a gross violation of international law, deliberately obstruction of media personnel from their work, and an attempt to their health and life. We assume that they should receive due evaluation of the profile multilateral structures, particularly the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNESCO Leadership, and other human rights institutions that advocate for the professional rights and legal interests of the global journalistic community.We stress the need for a thorough investigation of this incident by the Israeli authorities, the perpetrators to be held accountable and the prevention of this practice in the future.
The Russian side intends to present its assessments of the incident happened to the Israeli Ambassador in Moscow, which will be called to the Russian Foreign Ministry in the near future.
