An Irish peacekeeping base in south Lebanon has been struck by a rocket.
No one was injured in the incident which occurred on Wednesday afternoon at Camp Shamrock, the Irish headquarters for Ireland’s Unifil contingent in the country.
Several hundred soldiers are based in the camp which is located a short distance from the Israeli border.
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Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Seán Clancy confirmed the rocket strike on Thursday morning. He said initial examinations of the remains of the weapon indicate it was a Katyusha rocket, an unguided munition, developed in Russia and commonly used by the Hizbullah armed group which operates in Lebanon.
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The rocket was fired from the north towards Israel. Investigations are ongoing to determine if it may have been intercepted and shot down by the Israeli Iron Dome air defence system before landing in the Irish base.
Irish soldiers were at a “level 2″ security posture when the rocket landed, meaning they were wearing body armour and limited in their movement. After the rocket hit, they took cover in bunkers, a procedure known as going to groundhog.
Lieut Gen Clancy said the rocket was fired by an “armed element” operating in the region. “A lot of these are unguided, undirected and unpredictable rockets and they have been known to fall,” he said.
The rocket caused “minimal damage on the ground”. It has since been made safe by ordnance experts.
“All our personnel remain safe and well,” the Chief of Staff said.
There have been more than 30 attacks on Unifil bases since the start of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon a month ago.
Of those, about 20 have been attributed to the Israel Defense Forces and seven were “clearly deliberate,” Unifil spokesman Andrea Tenenti said on Wednesday.
Israel has repeatedly demanded that Unifil withdrawn from certain bases along the border. Unfil has refused to evacuate the bases.
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin said the rocket attack illustrates the risks Irish troops face.
“It is a much more challenging environment now that it would have been. That is why we are pushing very strongly for a de-escalation in the region.”
Speaking this afternoon, Taoiseach Simon Harris said it was an “extremely serious situation” and thankfully all Irish peacekeepers were accounted for and safe.
Mr Harris said there was an obligation in international law not to target peacekeepers but also to protect them.
“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 told reporters.
“Therefore I 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.”
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