![\"Member](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/749a596a-5c64-43bf-ac04-a8624ee87b88.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIrish troops are stationed across UN positions including UN Post 2\u201145 – Camp Shamrock – the mission\u2019s headquarters and forward Post 6\u201152, which lies close to the Blue Line\u2014the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon and the focal point of escalating hostilities.<\/p>\n
Commandant Alex Quigley, Defence Forces Press Officer, confirmed the situation in the UNIFIL area of operations deteriorated rapidly overnight, prompting commanders to activate \u201cGroundhog\u201d – the Defence Forces\u2019 term for ordering troops into fortified bunkers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Member of Irish Defence Forces<\/p>\n
Irish peacekeepers shelter in bunkers as heavy fire erupts between Hezbollah and Israel<\/p>\n
\u201cOur personnel in Lebanon were ordered into Groundhog in the early hours of the morning,\u201d Comdt Quigley told the Irish Independent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey remain there due to ongoing fire in the vicinity. The bunkers are specifically designed and outfitted to allow troops to continue maintaining situational awareness and to stay in contact with our forward posts, even under threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
A total of 358 Irish Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed in UNIFIL.<\/p>\n
In October 2024, a UNIFIL base in Lebanon came under fire. UN sources reported that at that time Israeli troops opened fire at three positions held by UN peacekeepers.<\/p>\n
Comdt Quigley said the Irish battalion\u2019s ability to continue monitoring and observation duties \u2014 despite being confined to bunkers \u2014 is ensured by the advanced communications and command systems within these protected structures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a volatile and dangerous region,\u201d he said. \u201cBut our troops are exceptionally well trained, well prepared and very familiar with drills for situations just like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond Lebanon, Ireland also has Defence Forces personnel deployed with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria \u2014 three members in headquarters roles \u2014 and 11 personnel with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), who are spread across Israel, Syria and Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Those members were also placed in Groundhog yesterday due to heightened tensions, though they were later able to emerge once conditions stabilised. The situation in Lebanon, however, remains more volatile.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll our personnel across Lebanon, Syria and Israel are accounted for and well,\u201d Comdt Quigley confirmed. \u201cFramework operations are ongoing and force protection measures remain in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commandant Quigley emphasised the Defence Forces recognises the concern among family members at home and maintains two official channels to keep them reassured and informed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach unit deploying overseas appoints a Family Liaison Officer, who families can contact directly with any concerns,\u201d he said. \u201cIn addition to that, the Defence Forces Press Office issues updates through social media and the media to assure the public that our troops are safe, accounted for and operating professionally despite the instability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Troops also have access to Wi\u2011Fi inside the camp, allowing them to contact loved ones when safe to do so.<\/p>\n
The 127th Infantry Battalion has been preparing for this mission since August of last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are well trained, well led and fully prepared for the situation they find themselves in,\u201d Comdt Quigley said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Irish troops are stationed across UN positions including UN Post 2\u201145 – Camp Shamrock – the mission\u2019s headquarters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,11829,3410,11652,14396,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-326219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-laura-lynott","12":"tag-lebanon","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-top-news","15":"tag-top-stories","16":"tag-topnews","17":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}