NUMEROUS POSTS ON social media have claimed that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have fired on Irish peacekeepers working for the United Nations in Lebanon.

Two UN peacekeepers from Sri Lanka working with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured after Israel allegedly fired on UNIFIL positions at its headquarters in Naqoura – the second such incident in 24 hours.

Posts on X and Facebook from 10 October and 11 October have been re-shared thousands of times, with false claims that Irish troops were fired on.

They include posts by prominent far-right Irish figure ‘Keith Woods’, who has described himself as an anti-Semite, who claimed on X that “Jews are now firing on Irish peacekeeping troops in Lebanon”.

Another account on X posted: “IDF firing at Irish peacekeepers with no response from his administration would be a fitting capstone humiliation for [US President] Biden”. The post has been re-shared more than 2,000 times.

In yet another post on Facebook, shared more than 100 times and seen by thousands of people, another account claimed that the IDF were “attacking the Irish UN peacekeepers in Lebanon”.

However, the Irish Defence Forces and the Tánaiste Micheál Martin have confirmed that no Irish positions came under attack.

On Thursday 10 October, UNIFIL confirmed that two of its peacekeepers were injured after an IDF tank fired on an observation tower at its headquarters in Naqoura, on the coast.

They also fired on a different UN position in Labbouneh, which UNIFIL said damaged vehicles and a communications system.

UNIFIL has a little over 10,000 troops in its peacekeeping force. Ireland is one of the 50 countries that have contributed to this force, with 370 troops in UNIFIL.

However, the Irish Defence Forces confirmed that its positions in Lebanon had “not been subject to incoming fire” and that all its personnel were safe and accounted for.

This was confirmed by Micheál Martin, who is also Minister for Defence, who said on 10 October that “no Irish troops were involved. All are safe and accounted for”.

The Irish Defence Forces further confirmed on the morning of 11 that no Irish troops had been fired on: “Following the most recent reports coming from Lebanon, the Defence Forces can confirm all Irish personnel are safe and accounted for. All necessary force protection measures continue to be observed.”

Contains reporting by Stephen McDermott.

The Journal’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here.