LONDON: Sky News journalist Alex Crawford was confronted by a man during her live coverage in Beirut on Tuesday, who accused her of wrongly using the term “militia” to refer to Hezbollah.
The unidentified passerby interrupted Crawford during her report on the Israeli raid targeting one of Hezbollah’s top commanders, Fouad Shukur, in the suburbs of Beirut.
“They are not militias, they are freedom fighters,” the man said, interrupting the broadcast. “You have to be careful when you’re speaking,” he added.
Crawford, a veteran journalist who has extensively reported from the Middle East, acknowledged the man’s protest during her live broadcast.
However, he interrupted her again, touching her shoulder and insisting, “They are not militias, they are freedom fighters.”
He added that the group had “been brought up to defend this country (Lebanon) since 1982 and they defend us.
“Do not refer to Hezbollah as militias. Is that very clear?” the man continued, adding, “Hezbollah is every one of us, just like us.”
Crawford attempted to follow up, asking the man to further explain, but he walked away, accusing her of having an agenda and warning her to “be careful.”
The confrontation comes amid rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, with fears of a full-scale conflict that could further inflame the region.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite Islamist political party and militant group led by Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, is widely referred to as a militia by Western and international media and is considered a terrorist group by the US, EU and Saudi Arabia.
The group, supported economically and militarily by Iran, has repeatedly exchanged fire with Israel since the beginning of the Gaza conflict, stating their actions are in support of the Palestinian cause.
Crawford, who has covered events since Oct. 7, has faced accusations from a former BBC executive of taking sides and breaching the principles of impartiality, balance, and accuracy in the war between Israel and Hamas after claiming Israel had committed “war crimes.”
