A VIDEO HAS emerged apparently showing the moment Irish peacekeepers were hit in an airstrike as they drove through a South Lebanon village.
The incident happened in an area near the village of Hanine which has been scene to several bombings by Israeli drones and aircraft, as well as widespread Hezbollah activity, in recent times.
It is understood six Irish troops were in a two-vehicle convoy along with two Polish colleagues.
It has emerged that shrapnel from the huge blast – which was part of a strike on a suspected Hezbollah building – hit the vehicles.
Sources have said that the two Armoured Utility Vehicles (AUV) protected the crews and no one was injured.
Now a video has emerged showing the moment of the strike.
The grainy infrared video, believed to be from the camera of an Israeli drone or aircraft orbiting a target, shows a devastating explosion on a building.
Then in the bottom left of the screen two vehicles round a corner immediately adjacent to the blast, and debris is clearly seen falling onto the road, the fields and the vehicles.
Sources have said that the drivers of the vehicles performed their standard drills and drove through the blast and away from the danger.
A spokesman for the Irish Defence Forces refused to comment on the video but said this morning that the incident had not affected Irish soldiers ability to carry out their duties in the region.
An investigation is underway by UNIFIL and the Irish Defence Forces – this is likely going to focus not just on the remains of the bomb used but also on data from a French military radar base in South Lebanon.
It is understood that this radar installation monitors Israeli aircraft incursions into the area and is likely to have a clear picture of what happened and who was responsible.
Sources have said at this stage all indications are that it was an Israeli strike on a building in the village.
Speaking in Dublin yesterday Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Micheál Martin said that he was awaiting the outcome of the Irish Defence Forces investigation.
“We have ideas as to who would have made that particular attack but I would say at this stage, we will be making representations on foot of this, on the basis that both the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) and Hezbollah must fulfil their obligations to peacekeepers.
“There are thousands of peacekeepers in Lebanon to keep the peace. It’s the most noble, objective thing to do and we take the full protection of our soldiers very seriously and I have already been in touch with the (Defence Forces) chief Anthony McKenna of staff about this.
“We will be receiving further information later this afternoon, but it is a serious incident and one I am very concerned about.
“It illustrates the danger of a wider escalation of the war to Lebanon in terms of the danger to peacekeepers and the civil population in Lebanon. And it’s matter of greatest concern,” he said.
The Irish troops operate in an area near the towns of At Tiri and Bint Jbeil in South Lebanon – the area is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Tensions are very high in the region, where the Irish troops are tasked with monitoring a ceasefire line known as the Blue Line between Hezbollah and Israel.
Forty-seven Irish troops have been killed in South Lebanon on peacekeeping the duty – the most recent death occurred when Donegal native Private Sean Rooney was shot dead in 2022 by Hezbollah fighters.
There were overnight exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel in the area.
The Hezbollah movement said an Israeli air strike killed two fighters on Sunday.
Hezbollah has traded near-daily fire with Israel since the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas – Israel has responded with heavy bombings including assassinations of Hezbollah leadership.
Hezbollah has been declared a terrorist organisation by the European Union and is aligned with Iran as part of that state’s so-called Axis of Resistance.
A strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs late last month killed Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukr, just hours before the assassination, blamed on Israel, of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
The Lebanese health ministry said yesterday an “Israeli strike that targeted the village of Taybeh today left two dead.”
Hezbollah confirmed they were group fighters, killed in Taybeh near the border with Israel.
The Israeli military said it had “struck throughout the day several Hezbollah military structures in the area of Adaisseh”, which is next to Taybeh.
According to the health ministry, at least one Lebanese and 11 Syrians were wounded, two seriously, in an Israeli strike on Maaroub, near Derdghaiya.
Separately, the health ministry specified that a Lebanese man who had succumbed to injuries sustained in an Israeli strike “several days ago” on the southern village of Beit Lif was a Hezbollah fighter, not a civilian as earlier reported.
Hezbollah said it launched salvos of rockets “in response” to the Israeli fire, targeting troops stationed in northern Israel on Sunday night and this morning.
A statement has been requested from UNIFIL, the Israeli Embassy in Dublin and the Israeli Ministry of Defence.
Additional reporting from AFP, PA and Sadbh Cox.
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