Irish troops will stay in Lebanon “for now” despite Israel’s “reckless” behaviour, the Defence Forces’ Chief of Staff has vowed.
Irish troops are stationed in southern Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mandate and concern has been raised about their safety and access to supplies- although officials have assured the public that the soldiers are “well stocked with fresh food”.
Yesterday, two non-Irish peacekeepers were injured in a reported Israeli attack and on The Pat Kenny Show, Chief of Staff Seán Clancy described it as a “fluid environment”.
“We have Israelis incurring right across the entirety of the blue line in Lebanon,” he said.
“The blue line [that divides Israel from Lebanon] is about 124 km in length and UNIFIL are mainly based in southern Lebanon - which is where they are mandated to be.
“There’s nearly 10,000 UNIFIL forces in that area and quite extensive engagement has been occurring over the blue line - in particular in the last week.”
No Irish troops have been hurt so far but Lieutenant General Clancy said the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are operating “in the vicinity” of their Camp Shamrock base.
“We have seen an escalated level of engagement towards the west of Lebanon in the Italian Battalion area,” he said.
“We’ve seen some - what I would suggest is - reckless, intimidatory actions by Israel against UN posts.”
Situation Update on Irish Defence Forces serving with overseas missions in Lebanon for family members
The Defence Forces confirm that all Irish personnel are safe and accounted for amid ongoing tensions along the Blue Line, where the situation is most intense. We extend our… pic.twitter.com/VnFdqxHweM
— Óglaigh na hÉireann (@defenceforces) October 10, 2024
Lieutenant General Clancy added there is a huge sense of “unity” among the nations that make up UNIFIL and troops are determined to stay put.
“There’s a very strong sense of solidarity in terms of our mandate to stay where we are - for now,” he said.
“It’s important that UNIFIL are there in terms of their observation; they are the eyes and ears of the world right now.
“It isn’t a kind of a binary choice to stay or go; this mission has been ongoing - Ireland has been there - since 1978.”
Situation Update on Irish Defence Forces serving with overseas missions in Lebanon for family members.
Following the most recent reports coming from Lebanon, the Defence Forces can confirm all Irish personnel are safe and accounted for. All necessary force protection measures… pic.twitter.com/ZT7Qzzc0c3
— Óglaigh na hÉireann (@defenceforces) October 11, 2024
Lieutenant General Clancy also said the consequences of withdrawal could be disastrous.
“We see what has happened in Gaza, for instance, where there were no eyes and ears,” he said.
“Where there was no visible reporting and nobody can be held to account, per se, but everything that is happening in Lebanon is being observed and monitored.
“[They] will be held to account in time and that is very important.”
Over 40,000 Palestinians are thought to have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since it declared war on Hamas after the October 7th attack.
Main image: Irish UN peacekeeper soldiers. Picture by: Alamy.com
