Irish peacekeeping troops escape injury after Lebanon camp struck by rocket
A UN vehicle stationed at Camp Shamrock. Pictures: Hannah McCarthy
An Irish peacekeeping base in south Lebanon, known as Camp Shamrock, was hit by a rocket on Wednesday afternoon.
No injuries were reported at the camp, known as United Nations Post 2-45, is close to the Israeli border and is close to areas controlled by Hezbollah.
Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, confirmed the incident on Thursday morning in Athlone.
Preliminary examinations of the rocket debris suggest it was a Katyusha rocket, an unguided munition commonly used by the Hezbollah armed group.
The rocket was reportedly fired from northern Lebanon towards Israel.
Taoiseach Simon Harris was briefed throughout the night on the situation at Camp Shamrock.
Lieutenant General Clancy stated that the rocket was launched by an “armed element” in the region, noting that such unguided rockets are often unpredictable and have a history of misfiring.
He said: "A lot of these are undirected, unguided and therefore unpredictable rockets, and they have been known to fall out, being taken down by the iron dome.
"It did fall in an unoccupied area of the actual camp itself and caused minimal, minimal damage on the ground."
Taoiseach Simon Harris claimed not enough steps are being taken to protect Irish peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon following the incident. He said the rocket had been taken down by the Iron Dome – the Israeli missile defence system.
The rocket then fell on an unoccupied part of Camp Shamrock, which is located close to the Israeli border and nearby to areas controlled by Hezbollah.
“Thankfully nobody has been hurt or injured and thankfully all our peacekeepers are accounted for and safe,” Mr Harris said.
However, he hit out at the warring sides in Lebanon, saying there are international obligations to protect peacekeepers in the region.
“What we’ve seen in the last number of days and 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,” Mr Harris 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.”
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