Irish troops serving in a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon “continue to perform their duties” despite fears that an expected Israeli retaliation to a rocket attack could spark a wider, and devastating, military conflict.
The statement from the Defence Forces comes as Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin “urged” Irish citizens in Lebanon to get commercial flights out.
Mr Martin, who is also Defence Minister, said Irish citizens need to be aware that if the security situation deteriorates, that “we may be limited in the assistance we can provide”.
Military tensions have escalated after a missile struck a football pitch in Israeli-seized territory in the Golan Heights, killing at least 12 civilians, including children.
Israel, and the US, has blamed Hezbollah, but the Lebanon-based militia has denied it launched the missile, which is believed to have misfired.
The head of the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL has warned that retaliation could ignite a wider war that would engulf the region in a “catastrophe beyond belief”.
Last April 332 Irish soldiers from the 124th Infantry Battalion left for a six-month UNIFIL deployment.
In a statement, the Defence Forces (DF) declined to give an insight into security assessments being conducted by officers in Lebanon.
But it said: “The DF personnel deployed in theatre are professional soldiers and prior to deployment, completed an intensive pre-deployment training program which prepared them for eventualities that are likely to arise in the current tense and volatile security environment currently experienced in UNIFIL.
“Despite current operational challenges the DF personnel serving with 124 Inf Bn continue to perform their duties as peacekeepers on behalf of the UN and the International Community.”
On Sunday, the Head of UNIFIL, Force Commander Aroldo Lazaro said, in a joint statement with the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis: “We urge the parties to exercise maximum restraint and to put a stop to the ongoing intensified exchanges of fire. It could ignite a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief.”
Mr Martin posted on social media that, since last October, his department has been advising people against travelling to Lebanon.
He added: “I urge Irish citizens in Lebanon to leave by commercial means. Citizens should be aware that, if the security situation deteriorates, we may be limited in the assistance we can provide.”
Ireland has ordered a transport aircraft — an Airbus C295W — which can be used not only to transport troops but also to evacuate Irish citizens stranded in conflict zones. But that is not expected to arrive until the middle of next year.
Diplomats in the Middle East are working in the background to try and prevent, or limit, Israeli retaliation.