Video footage released by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) of an air strike in southern Lebanon shows Irish peacekeepers narrowly escaping the brunt of the blast.
Irish Government and defence officials are satisfied the footage shows a drone strike by Israeli forces on the village of Hanine, which is within the zone patrolled by Irish troops stationed with the Unifil peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
Two armoured utility vehicles (AUVs) carrying six Irish and two Polish peacekeepers were damaged in the large blast on Saturday. There were no injuries.
Irish officials are expected to demand answers on whether Israeli forces knew Unifil peacekeepers were present in the area. The UN typically shares advance details of its patrols with armed parties in the region, including the IDF, Hizbullah and the Lebanese Armed Forces.
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It is understood Unifil is preparing to announce an investigation into the incident shortly.
Aerial footage uploaded by the IDF to its official Telegram Channel at the weekend shows a building being destroyed by a large explosion. An accompanying caption states: “Strike on Hizbullah military structure in the area of Hanine”.
The IDF said it was one of several strikes on “Hizbullah military structures and a weapons storage facility in the areas of Hanine, Ayta ash Shab, Khiam, and Blida in southern Lebanon.”
Following the explosion, two vehicles can be seen driving away from its epicentre and around a corner. Irish sources said these are believed to have been the Unifil AUVs carrying the Irish and Polish troops.
Israel and Hizbullah have been trading artillery, rocket and drone strikes in recent weeks as fears grow of a full-scale conflict on the border. All armed parties are obliged by international law to avoid targeting peacekeepers or putting them in danger during hostilities.
The Israeli embassy in Dublin said on Monday it was making inquiries about the strike in Hanine.
“In the meantime, it is important to remember for 10 months Hizbullah has been bombarding Israel, forcing nearly 100,000 people from their homes and putting the lives of Unifil soldiers in Lebanon at risk,” a spokesperson said.
“Israel has repeatedly called on the international community to pressure Hizbullah into ceasing its behaviour.”
The strike occurred as the UN vehicles were driving through the town on a routine patrol in their area of operations, in Sector West of the Unifil mission area.
The AUVs they were travelling in resemble civilian SUV-type vehicles on the outside but are heavily armoured and equipped with two layers of bulletproof glass.
Shrapnel from the blast penetrated the outer “soft” shell of the vehicles but did not penetrate the armour, sources said.
Military sources said following the strike Irish troops acted according to procedure by leaving the danger area and reporting the incident before returning to base.
The vehicles were clearly marked with the usual UN markings, including on the roofs, sources said.
The Irish Government has yet to publicly name Israel as being behind the strike.
On Sunday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that the Government had “ideas” as to who was behind the attack but 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 [we] take force-protection of our soldiers very seriously,” he said.
A Department of Defence spokesperson said: “As all of the circumstances regarding the incident in which Defence Forces personnel were caught up in Lebanon on Saturday evening are still under investigation, the department has no further comment to make at this time.”
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