Thirty Irish soldiers have been unable to leave an outpost on the Israel-Lebanon border for several days.
RTÉ News has established that an Israel Defence Force platoon has been set up at the outpost and has been firing rounds at Hezbollah targets from there.
A UNIFIL spokesperson has described the situation as “tense”; the outpost is adjacent to the border with Israel.
There are reports that the IDF has asked UNIFIL and the Irish Defence Forces to withdraw from the outpost.
A spokesperson for the Irish Defence Forces said they had “no comment to make” on what it called an “operational matter”.
The outpost is located near the town of Maroun El-Ras, which is around 12km from Camp Shamrock.
There are 379 Irish troops serving as peacekeepers in Lebanon.
The platoon based at the outpost has supplies and is in regular contact with comrades serving inside Camp Shamrock and with Defence Forces headquarters in Ireland.
Since the Israeli incursion into south Lebanon, UNIFIL has instructed all battalions to limit movements, regular patrols are on hold and troops are confined to their base.
Irish soldiers serving in Lebanon who were on leave have been told not to return to the base there until it is safe to do so.
Those troops remain at home and will not return until hostilities in the area die down.
UNIFIL has said that the current level of fighting in the area is “not conducive to the movement of large convoys”, meaning troops will remain there until it is safe to move them.
Junior Minister Neale Richmond said the 30 Irish troops have been ordered to stay there as it is the safest place for them at this time.
He said it was a treacherous trip to get back to Camp Shamrock so the soldiers had been ordered to stay in place for now.
He told RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin that UNIFIL would make the direct order and command, but the Government was aware of the situation.
He said the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are constantly in contact with the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces about the conditions in Lebanon.
Irish citizens expected to arrive back from Lebanon
Two dozen Irish citizens and their dependents are expected to arrive in Ireland this weekend after being evacuated from Lebanon.
The Canadian and Dutch governments helped 24 Irish people leave the country yesterday.
“We have worked closely with our EU and other partners to exchange information and coordinate our consular response to the situation in Lebanon,” Micheál Martin said in a statement.
The Canadian Foreign Policy office said that it was “glad” to assist 22 Irish citizens out of the country.
“We hope they had a safe journey back to their loved ones and we welcome the good relations that bind us to Ireland,” it said on X.
A number of Irish citizens have already arrived in the Netherlands on a repatriation flight from Lebanon.
They were among 185 people on board with flight, which was organised jointly by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence.
Irish citizens have been urged to avoid travelling to Israel and to leave Lebanon amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
A number of countries have begun evacuating their citizens from Lebanon including more than 150 UK nationals.
This morning evacuees a South Korean military transport aircraft returned 97 citizens and family members from Lebanon, the foreign ministry said.
Additional reporting: Jackie Fox and Sandra Hurley
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