Irish families fly home from Lebanon as Unifil troops limit movements amid Israeli invasion
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The evacuation of 24 Irish citizens and their families from Lebanon has taken place amid growing concern of an all-out war across the Middle East.
Two groups of Irish citizens departed on flights on Friday, with the help of authorities in Netherlands and Canada, and are expected to arrive back to Ireland this weekend.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish embassy in Cairo had been in regular contact with citizens in Lebanon, and international partners, about the escalating conflict in the region. He said:
“Many Irish citizens in Lebanon are deeply rooted in the country, with family, work, and other links.
“While we have been able to assist almost all Irish citizens who have expressed a wish to leave, understandably many have decided to remain.”
As the Israeli invasion of Lebanon continues, it has emerged that the Israel Defense Forces made a request to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), which includes peacekeeping troops from Ireland, to withdraw from an area on the border with Lebanon.
The request was rejected.
In a statement, the Irish Defence Forces said it is getting regular updates from its leadership in Lebanon regarding the 380 members currently serving in the region.
It said that personnel currently on leave have been told that their return to Lebanon is on “hold”, and to “remain on standby until a secure window becomes available”.
Unifil has instructed all other troops to limit their movements in Lebanon amid growing tensions in the region.
Just days before the first anniversary of Hamas’s attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, which sparked the conflict, there appeared minimal prospect of an end to the escalating violence that has displaced well over 2m people and killed tens of thousands.
Israel continued its airstrikes on Gaza and Lebanon on Friday, cutting off the main route to Syria.
Further strikes also hit Yemen.
In a rare public sermon, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed that the militant groups — Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza — will re-emerge strongly with new leaders following Israeli strikes that proceeded to decimate their top ranks.
He urged Muslims from “Afghanistan to Yemen, and from Iran to Gaza” to be ready to take action, and praised those who had already died doing so.
Iran’s supreme leader also praised the initial Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year in which 1,200 people were killed as a “legitimate act”.
US president Joe Biden addressed the spiralling conflict on Friday, saying he is trying to rally the rest of the world to avoid all-out war breaking out in the Middle East.
However, Mr Biden again avoided criticising Israel's bombardments in the region, and said: "No administration has helped Israel more than I have."