RIR soldiers in Lebanon operation

The RIR soldiers have been on HMS Bulwark

Eight Royal Irish Regiment soldiers have been helping take evacuees from Lebanon onboard HMS Bulwark.

The evacuees will fly back to the UK from RAF Akrotiri later, joining the hundreds who have already returned.

Speaking from the ship, Major Alan McDade said they had taken 1,300 people to Cyprus.

"Children came on board, old people, people in wheelchairs and we in the Royal Irish helped people by bringing them onboard," he said.

"We got them settled on the ship. Part of our job was to walk around and chat with the evacuated people and listen to them.

"We continued to reassure them and tell them what was happening and do all of the things that would be expected once we had got alongside in Limassol."

Shortly after HMS Bulwark arrived in Limassol, Foreign Office minister Lord Triesman visited the vessel to thank the crew for their hard work.

He said the passengers finally felt safe after having been through "a hell of a trauma".

Bulwark's staff were charged with entertaining the children

Israel has carried out further air strikes and small-scale incursions into Lebanon, as troops and tanks gather on the border.

Israeli jets knocked out TV and phone masts in the east and north of Lebanon, while ground troops carried out operations in two southern villages.

The violence was sparked last week when Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.

The UK has refused to back calls from the United Nations for an immediate ceasefire.