MOSCOW

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Israeli Ambassador Oded Joseph on Friday and lodged a strong protest over the Israeli forces' airstrike targeting the Russian RT channel's journalists in Lebanon.

When approached by journalists before entering the Foreign Ministry building in Moscow, the diplomat refused to answer questions, saying that he "did not want to be late for the meeting."

Following a meeting with the Israeli ambassador, the ministry issued a statement saying that Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko expressed a strong protest to Joseph over the attack.

"The Russian side lodged a protest regarding the shelling of members of an RT television crew who were wounded as a result of a missile attack by the Israeli Air Force in southern Lebanon," it said.

The ministry added that Borisenko asked "a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident and to prevent such practices in the future."

The two diplomats also discussed the tense military-political situation in the Middle East region, it added.

On Thursday, members of an RT crew, who were on an editorial assignment in southern Lebanon, were wounded as a result of an Israeli airstrike.

Correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman, Ali Rida Sbeity, were injured in the attack, and the Russian Foreign Ministry later stated that the Israeli ambassador would be updated on Russia's assessment of the journalists' strike.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the attack as "targeted," noting that it was carried out on unarmed civilians, who are protected by international humanitarian law as journalists.

She emphasized that the journalists were wearing waste jackets with easily distinguishable "press" markings, carrying only cameras and microphones, and that the strike occurred in an area with no military facilities.