Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon this have taken over control of a crucial United Nations observation post directly on the border with Israel.
From this post, the Irish soldiers will be able to monitor activity in their volatile area of operations where violence can suddenly erupt.
The Irish peacekeepers took over the post from French soldiers attached to the UN. About 30 Irish soldiers will be based here for the duration of the Defence Forces deployment to UNIFIL.
The post is directly beside the Blue Line, the demarcation which separates Lebanon from Israel, which occupied Southern Lebanon for decades till the year 2000.
After decades of civil war and foreign occupations, its now taking 12,000 UN soldiers to keep the peace.
Some of Irelands 440 UNIFIL troops were this afternoon patrolling in dangerous terrain close to the Israeli border.
The area patrolled by Ireland is riddled with landmines.
The area was also used by Hezbollah fighters to launch rocket attacks into Israel provoking a bloody response five years ago.
A few weeks ago, ten Palestinians were killed by Israelis as they tried to cross the Blue Line.
