An armed patrol which included six Irish soldiers got caught up in a drone or air attack on a village in southern Lebanon on Saturday night that caused significant damage to their vehicles.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that none of the soldiers were injured in the strike but that damage was sustained by the two armoured utility vehicles in which they were travelling.
Mr Martin, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, said on Sunday that the Irish soldiers were travelling with two Polish military personnel in a routine patrol, as part of the Irish-Pol Batt mission, when the incident occurred.
“There was an attack, either a drone or air-strike, on the village. They were patrolling through. They had come out, it seems, from the village. Shrapnel [from the explosion] appears to have pierced the vehicles,” he said.
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He said that none of the soldiers was injured. “The personnel are safe. They emerged unscathed and are back in camp.”
The Tánaiste said that the Irish Government had “ideas” as to who was behind the attack but he said he would prefer to wait for an investigation into the incident to be conducted by the Defence Forces to allow the source to be identified.
“What I would say at this stage is we will be making representations about this on the basis that both the IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] and Hizbullah must fulfil their obligations to peacekeepers. There are thousands of peacekeepers in Lebanon to keep the peace. It is the most noble objective that one would want to pursue and take force-protection of our soldiers very seriously.”
Mr Martin said he had already been in touch with the Defence Forces’ Acting Chief of Staff Anthony McKenna in relation to this and said he would be receiving further information on Sunday evening.
“It is a serious incident. It’s one we are very concerned about. It illustrates the dangers of a wider escalation of the war to Lebanon in terms of the danger to peacekeepers and the civilian population in Lebanon,” he said.
“I would remind all of the protagonists, the IDF and Hizbullah, to be very conscious of your obligations to the safety of peacekeepers operating under a UN mandate.”
The Defence Forces confirmed in a statement that the incident occurred at around 8pm local time, describing it as “an explosive blast of unknown origin”.
“The Defence Forces can confirm all personnel are safe and accounted for,” the statement added. “There were no casualties, and both vehicles and all personnel recovered to the Irish position of UNP 245 [known as Camp Shamrock]. The 124th Infantry Battalion will continue to conduct framework operations and remain the eyes and ears in South Lebanon for the international community.”
In December 2022, Pte Seán Rooney (24), originally from Dundalk, Co Louth, was killed in an attack on a convoy of Irish Unifil peacekeepers during a UN operation in town of Al-Aqbiya. The town is in an area controlled by Iran-backed Hizbullah.
One man, Muhammad Ayyad, was later arrested and detained for allegedly taking part in the attack but his case has since been adjourned seven times in part on medical grounds. Four other men accused of being involved in the attack have never appeared in court.
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