Middle East
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

In relation to the situation in Lebanon, it is not acceptable what is happening. It is essentially a ground invasion. The Israeli defence forces and army are trying to annex the south part of the region. Unfortunately, that is where many of our troops are, though not all. What I can assure the Deputy is that I am in regular daily contact with the Chief of the Defence Forces who provides me with updates of our troops and how they are. I am pleased to inform the House that all of our troops are safe and accounted for, and these are situations which are kept under continuous monitoring. There are times they have to go into groundhog, which is when they are underground in very confined small spaces for a long period of time. There are other days when that is not happening and they are out patrolling. They are obviously working very closely with their international partners and battalions. I can assure the Deputy, families and those at home who of course are concerned about their loved ones that these operations through the UNIFIL HQ are kept under continual monitoring. The role of the peacekeepers however is to be there on the ground in these types of situations. The desire for peacekeepers to be there on the ground monitoring what is happening has been made very clear to me. Of course, we need to make sure that if situations change or escalate, that is taken into consideration. I have full belief in UNIFIL HQ and the decisions it takes.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26