Attacks on Unifil personnel in Lebanon, where 300 Irish troops are based, condemned

The United Nations mission in Lebanon, Unifil, has strongly condemned attacks on its personnel in southern Lebanon, where more than 300 Irish troops are based, describing the attacks as criminal and a violation of international law.

The warning comes after a Unifil peacekeeper, from Nepal, was injured in an attack around 15km from Camp Shamrock where most of the Irish personnel are based.

That incident occurred at about 10pm on Saturday when two mortar shells hit a Unifil base in the vicinity of the village of Houla. The injured Nepalese peacekeeper was evacuated and has been receiving medical treatment, his life was not in danger, a statement said. Earlier on Saturday a shell also hit the Unifil headquarters in Naqoura, with no injuries reported.

The Irish Defence Forces have participated in Unifil, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, since 1978.

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There has been increasing violence in the region and ongoing clashes between Israel and Hizbullah along the Lebanese border area since the attack in Israel by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas three weeks ago.

Hizbullah militants have been firing rockets into Israel from the Irish area of operations, raising fears that Irish posts could be inadvertently hit in retaliatory attacks. Irish Unifil troops have had to take shelter in concrete bunkers on multiple occasions due to overhead fire.

These exchanges have been a daily occurrence, with Hizbullah saying 46 of its fighters have been killed and Israel saying the exchanges in the area have claimed the lives of seven of its soldiers. There are currently 331 Defence Forces personnel serving with Unifil, eight of whom are based in the UN headquarters in Naqoura.

In a statement on Sunday, Unifil expressed its “serious concern over these two attacks on our troops” who were “tirelessly working 24-7 to restore stability” in southern Lebanon and de-escalate tensions in the area.

“We strongly urge all parties involved in the conflict to immediately cease fire,” the Unifil said. “Attacking UN peacekeepers is a crime, a violation of international law and must be condemned. Investigations have been launched into both incidents.”

[ Irish soldiers in Lebanon ‘holding up very well’ amid tensions in the Middle East ]

In reply to queries, the Defence Forces said the Irish troops of the 122nd Infantry Battalion in Unifil had taken shelter in protected positions, adding the deployment of the 123rd Infantry Battalion to Unifil was continuing as planned. Irish personnel continued to “monitor the situation” and all were “accounted for and are safe”, the Defence Forces said.

Aside from the Irish personnel with Unifil, another 118 Irish troops are serving with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (Undof) in Syria, a deployment aimed maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria.

While the Defence Forces described as “calm” the situation in the Undof area of responsibility, the Irish personnel were maintaining a “high degree of vigilance and continue to monitor the situation”. It added “all non-essential activities” had been suspended.

A further 13 Irish personnel were serving as observers with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation in Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The Defence Forces said they were “all safe and well” and were complying with UN security precautions, mainly around unnecessary travel.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the Government is continuing to push for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

“The situation remains fluid in Gaza and the region and the Tánaiste is being updated regularly on the latest developments. He has engaged with political counterparts in the region, from Israel, [the] Palestinian side, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Qatar, Iran, Jordan,” the spokesman said.

“We continue to urge humanitarian ceasefire. The situation in Gaza is critical. We need to see a significant scaling up of humanitarian access and the urgent addition of fuel as part of humanitarian supplies.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs is continuing to reach out to Irish citizens in Gaza on a daily basis, the spokesman said, adding that the department is “engaging with relevant authorities in Egypt and Israel as well”.