The Irish peacekeeper base in southern Lebanon was struck by a Hezbollah rocket, the chief of staff of Ireland’s Defence Forces confirmed yesterday.
The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon and no personnel suffered injuries.
Lieutenant General Sean Clancy said all troops in Camp Shamrock at the time of the strike were safe and well, with the Katyusha rocket landing in an unoccupied area of the base.
Taoiseach Simon Harris described the incident as “extremely serious”.
Lt Gen Clancy said the rocket was travelling north to south, towards Israel, when it came down within the Irish camp. He said it was unclear whether it fell or was taken down by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system.
Camp Shamrock, known as United Nations Post 2-45, is a short distance from the Israeli border, and is close to areas controlled by Hezbollah militants.
There are around 350 soldiers currently deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) carrying out peacekeeping duties.
The mother of one of the peacekeepers said she was horrified to get the notification on her phone about the attack.
“It was horrendous. We were at an event with other military families and everyone was shocked,” she said.
“We should have been informed that this happened and everybody was OK before it broke 24 hours later.
“It’s hard enough living with the worry and now I am concerned that we will not be told when things happen.
“I just desperately want him home. They are still bunkered much of the time and cannot fulfil their mission.
“It has been another day full of worry and angst,” she said.
Lt Gen Clancy confirmed the incident during a Defence Forces event in Co Westmeath yesterday, and said the rocket had caused minimal damage.
“I can confirm that yesterday afternoon there was a Katyusha rocket that landed within 2-45, this was by an armed element obviously, our assessment is it was travelling north to south into Israel.
“A lot of these are undirected, unguided and therefore unpredictable rockets, and they have been known to fall or been taken down by the Iron Dome. We haven’t assessed [if that is the case] right now.
“But it did fall in an unoccupied area of the camp itself. It caused minimal damage on the ground.”
He said bomb disposal officers sealed off the area on Wednesday night and dampened the ground before making the device safe yesterday morning.
“All personnel are safe and well, and of course, force protection is a priority for us. All the precautions we take and have been taking, which are working quite well, worked effectively on this occasion,” the chief of staff added.
Lt Gen Clancy and Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin took part in a military event at Custume Barracks in Athlone yesterday for the members of the 125th Battalion of the Defence Forces who are preparing to take over from their counterparts in Lebanon when Irish troops on peacekeeping duties are next rotated.
Mr Martin said the incident “illustrates the risks are there” for Irish peacekeepers. “There’s no hiding from that fact. We are in a very challenging environment and that is why force protection is extremely important,” he said, adding that the troops were at “Level 2” when the strike occurred.
“It is a much more challenging environment now than it perhaps would have been, that is why we are pushing very strongly for a de-escalation in the region that is absolutely essential for the people of the region and also for the world.
“We cannot understate the importance of all sides pulling back from the brink now and engineering a ceasefire and working through a peaceful path. We’re very conscious of the risks involved.”
The Taoiseach said he was thankful no one had been hurt in the rocket strike.
Simon Harris speaks on attack on Irish peacekeeping camp in southern Lebanon
“In relation to Camp Shamrock, I have been kept informed of it through yesterday evening and, indeed, into today,” Mr Harris told reporters in Co Kildare.
“This is an extremely serious situation, whilst it seems what happens is this – that a rocket was fired, that rocket was taken down by what they call the Iron Dome, and part of that rocket then fell on, thankfully, an unoccupied part of Camp Shamrock, home to our Irish peacekeepers. Thankfully, nobody has been hurt or injured, and thankfully all our peacekeepers are accounted for and safe, and that is a good thing.”
Mr Harris said there was an obligation in international law to protect and not target peacekeepers.
“What we have seen in the last number of days, on many occasions throughout the Unifil mission, and what we saw yesterday in relation to Camp Shamrock, is a situation where even if peacekeepers aren’t being actively targeted, certainly enough steps are not being taken to protect them,” he said.
“Therefore, I really reiterate my call in relation to the need for people to respect international law and respect the specific protections that are provided to peacekeepers in relation to that.”
