Dublin: The Irish government has lodged a formal protest after Israeli forces fired upon an Irish-Lebanese unit serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The incident occurred in the village of Yaroun, located approximately 10 kilometres from Camp Shamrock, within the Blue Line buffer zone near the Israeli border.
According to official reports, 30 rounds were fired during a nine-minute episode while the joint unit—comprising six Irish UN peacekeepers and members of the Lebanese Armed Forces—was assisting local civilians whose homes had been damaged by earlier Israeli military operations. While no injuries were reported, all shots landed within 50 metres of the peacekeepers, prompting the unit to withdraw from the area.
Ireland’s Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Brigadier General Rosa Mulcahy, formally notified Minister for Defence and Tánaiste Simon Harris of the incident. Following approval, Ireland submitted a demarche—a formal diplomatic protest—via the United Nations to the Israeli government, marking the second such protest within a month. A similar incident involving Irish diplomats being fired upon in Jenin, West Bank, occurred in mid-May, also without injury.
The démarche strongly condemned the attack, emphasising that actions endangering peacekeepers are “completely unacceptable”. It also urged Israel to refrain from repeating such conduct, warning that these incidents have caused grave concern at the highest levels of the Irish government and defence establishment.
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The shooting comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and President Michael D. Higgins have warned of a coordinated international campaign to discredit Ireland over its support for Palestinian statehood and its position at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Martin stated that Israeli efforts to equate Ireland’s pro-Palestinian stance with support for Hamas are misleading and deliberately intended to distort the government’s position. He reaffirmed that Ireland unequivocally condemns Hamas, while also expressing deep concern over the scale and brutality of Israeli military actions in Gaza.
President Higgins further warned of a “very active campaign” in the United States aimed at portraying criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies as antisemitic. He described such accusations as a “complete insult and slander” against Ireland, denouncing efforts to discourage U.S. investment in Ireland based on its stance on the conflict.
The renewed incident of live fire on Irish peacekeepers has intensified scrutiny of Israel’s engagement with international missions and drawn renewed attention to the vulnerability of neutral actors in conflict zones. The Irish government has reiterated its commitment to supporting UN peacekeeping operations and upholding international humanitarian law.
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