The Irish armed forces have participated in UN peacekeeping missions for over 60 years. Since 1958, Eire has despatched troops to international conflicts on nearly each continent. We’ve had a peacekeeping battalion with the United Nations Interim Pressure in Lebanon (Unifil) in south Lebanon on a steady foundation since 1978. The connection is so deep-rooted that within the Irish space of operations, near the border with Israel, there are native Lebanese individuals who communicate English with broad Irish accents.
As Israel intensifies its present floor assault in Lebanon, 380 Irish troops have discovered themselves in direct confrontation with the would possibly of the Israel Protection Forces (IDF). At UN place 6-52, close to the border village of Maroun al-Ras, a platoon of 33 Irish troops was surrounded and remoted from UN headquarters by an IDF unit. Israeli troops have tried to intimidate and threaten the younger Irish women and men at 6-52 by positioning Merkava battle tanks on the perimeter of the put up, with their 120mm fundamental armaments aimed straight at them. A neighbouring Irish/Polish platoon at place 6-50 has witnessed Israeli forces destroying the small city of Yaroun throughout fierce combating with Hezbollah.
None of that is new for the Irish. Over the many years, as peacekeepers, we have now acted as de facto human shields, making an attempt to guard harmless Lebanese civilians from Hezbollah on one hand and the IDF on the opposite. As impartial observers and first responders, we have now misplaced nearly 50 troops in Lebanon. Roughly 50% of our casualties have been inflicted by Islamist resistance teams akin to Hezbollah – the opposite 50% by the IDF and their paramilitary proxies within the space. Most not too long ago, Pte Seán Rooney was killed in December 2022; a Lebanese army tribunal accused 5 members of Hezbollah.
After Hamas’s horrific assault on 7 October final yr, Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and missiles into northern Israel. Hezbollah, like Hamas – in direct contravention of the Geneva conventions – has focused Israeli cities and villages from Haifa on the Mediterranean coast throughout to Kiryat Shmona and Tiberias. This has led to the interior displacement of greater than 60,000 Israeli civilians, searching for to flee these barrages. There’s a well-founded concern amongst many Israelis that Hezbollah may additionally mount a cross-border marauding assault on harmless males, ladies and youngsters in northern Israeli settlements, just like the Hamas assaults.
For its half, the IDF, at Netanyahu’s path, has mounted a savage marketing campaign of retaliation towards Hamas in Gaza. Within the conduct of its operations, the IDF seems to have has repeatedly and constantly damaged the worldwide legal guidelines of armed battle; it has slaughtered greater than 40,000 Gazans and maimed many tens of hundreds extra. The overwhelming majority of those casualties have been harmless Palestinians, together with nearly 20,000 ladies and youngsters.
For the Irish deployed to Unifil, as occasions unfold it’s abundantly clear that the IDF is making ready to copy its brutal assault on Gaza in Lebanon. The dying toll in Lebanon, principally amongst harmless civilians, already exceeds 2,000. This represents the identical casualty price as skilled in Gaza and has the potential to plunge Lebanon into the abyss. It additionally carries with it the danger of a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran. It is a second of nice hazard for the ten,000 troops deployed to Unifil and notably for the Irish deployed on the frontline alongside Israel’s advance.
I communicate from expertise, having served as an Irish peacekeeper in Lebanon. As a younger officer in 1996, throughout Israel’s infamous operation Grapes of Wrath, I witnessed the destruction of the small villages and cities in our space of operation. Then, as now, essentially the most weak Lebanese civilians had been unable to evacuate or flee the Israeli onslaught. Aged folks, disabled folks and younger moms nursing infants had been unable to flee.
Within the midst of the destruction, we took nearly 200 civilians into our UN place. We shared our meagre rations, water and medical provides with these terrified folks. Our neighbouring UN place on the village of Qana additionally took in civilians. Nevertheless, it was straight focused by the IDF and over 100 males, ladies and youngsters had been slaughtered there in shelling on 18 April 1996.
The scenario in Lebanon is way worse in the present day. The IDF has for essentially the most half deserted the standard army doctrine of “advance to contact” operations, the place armies tactically reply to enemy fireplace. The IDF in Gaza and now Lebanon is working what army analysts time period a doctrine of “reconnaissance by fireplace”, the place it pre-emptively opens fireplace on every thing and everybody its forces encounter of their advance to discourage ambushes. On this, they don’t distinguish between both Hamas and Hezbollah targets and civilians or civilian objects. Therefore the shockingly excessive civilian casualty charges. As I write, the IDF has opened fireplace on UN positions injuring 5 peacekeepers.
In all of its earlier incursions into Lebanon, the IDF has killed UN peacekeepers and UN observers. All that the Irish can do is observe, document and report the actions of all events to the battle. They’ll hope to save lots of lives and they’ll hope to outlive and return house to their households. Blessed are the peacekeepers.
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Tom Clonan is an unbiased senator within the Irish parliament and a retired military officer
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