The United Nations peace mission to Lebanon that includes hundreds of Irish soldiers may be saved from the axe, it has emerged.
UN sources told The Irish Sunday Mirror that while the UNIFIL mission is planned to end in early 2027, diplomats believe there is still time to persuade America it should continue.
"It is not over yet and there is plenty of time to save it," a source told us.
Thousands of Irish troops have served with UNIFIL in southern Lebanon since 1978 - and 48 lost their lives in the mission, which tries to keep the peace in the war-torn area.
There are currently 333 members of the Defence Forces serving with the 126th Infantry Battalion there - where they patrol the Blue Line, the de facto frontier between Lebanon and Israel.
But in August, it was announced the mission would wind down in January 2027 - which means there will only be two more battalions following in the footsteps of the 126th.
Israel - which says UNIFIL is not doing enough to prevent Hezbollah from using southern Lebanon as a launchpad to attack it - had wanted the mission stopped immediately, but their powerful ally America, which has a veto in the United Nations, agreed on a compromise.
That will see the mission run as normal until December 31, 2026, and then start to wind down - including the Irish contingent.
If that does happen, it will mean the end of Ireland's longest serving peacekeeping operation - one that has become part of Irish society because of the number of our soldiers who have served there in the last six decades.
If the mission does end in January 2027, the Defence Forces will have to organise a massive logistics operation to bring their equipment home from two UN posts - Camp Shamrock, also known as 2-45, and UNP6-52.
Both are close to the border between Israel and Lebanon.
Hundreds of tonnes of equipment - from Mowag armoured personnel carriers and heavy machine guns to beds, desks and even nuts and bolts - will all have to be individually itemised, before being packed up and sent back to Dublin.
Sources say such a mammoth operation could take weeks if not months.
And it is also likely to cost millions of euros.
However, the sources added, the Irish contingent will continue to serve in Lebanon as normal - right up until the UN mission comes to an end.
"We will complete our mission, right to the end," a source told us.
But diplomatic sources added they are now hopeful a way will be found to save the mission - including the Irish contingent. America is important for the future of UNIFIL as the mission can only be green lit by the body's Security Council - and the United States is one of a number of members of that body that has a veto.
But diplomats believe America can and may be persuaded to change its stance on the mission - and defy Israel's demands for it to be abolished.
One source told us: "We believe America can be persuaded to continue it. It is not an impossible task to save the mission.
"America has changed policy on other issues in the recent past. The hope is they will on the UNIFIL mission, too."
News of diplomats' hope that UNIFIL could be saved came as the head of the Defence Forces paid a visit to southern Lebanon to meet members of the 126th Infantry Battalion.
Lieutenant-General Rossa Mulcahy visited posts 2-45 and 6-52 - and presented peace medals to soldiers on their first peace mission.
He was also briefed on the current situation - in which Israel repeatedly breaches a ceasefire agreed between them and Islamic fighters Hezbollah in November last year - after a year of heavy fighting.
Much of the fighting took place in the Irish area of operations - including at UNP6-52, which had Israeli tanks parked at its gates for several days. The Israelis wanted our troops to leave the area - but they stayed put.
Despite November's ceasefire, Israel regularly mounts attacks on targets in southern Lebanon - including in the Irish area of operations.
Lt-Gen Mulcahy paid tribute to the Irish soldiers in UNIFIL - and said they were doing a great job.
And he also said that the Irish had a proud legacy in Lebanon - which included the deaths of 48 personnel since 1978, the last of whom to die was Private Sean Rooney, murdered by a Hezbollah gunman in December 2022.
The general told the Irish Sunday Mirror: "It is a proud legacy.
"It has been a difficult legacy with the number of personnel who lost their lives and the monuments that we have in this part of Lebanon.
"There has been a huge sacrifice. We remember them all, each and every one of them up to Private Sean Rooney, the most recent one.
"But each of them are remembered every month."
He also said the skills and experience gained by Irish personnel in Lebanon stood them in good stead for other missions the Defence Forces have had - from Eritrea and Liberia in Africa to Afghanistan, where soldiers were central to the EOD, or bomb disposal element.
Lt-Gen Mulcahy said: "For the Defence Forces it has been an operational test bed for the Army.
"It is not a training ground, it is where we put our training into practice and we deliver operations in a whole variety of areas.
"It has been a really important learning, but we have taken that learning and brought it forward - our missions in Africa, we took Lebanon and expanded it out.
"The operational experience you get translates back at home and then allows you to further expand that out. That's the legacy.
"What every soldier, NCO and officer has learned in Lebanon has shaped and impacted them for the positive."