The Pentagon has announced that it will send a THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense system and its personnel to Israel, which is happening as Israel contemplates retaliatory attacks against Iran, informs the "New York Times".
The United States is sending an advanced missile defense system to Israel, along with about 100 American soldiers to man it, the Pentagon said. This is the first deployment of US forces to Israel since the attacks carried out there on October 7, 2023 under the leadership of "Hamas".
President Joe Biden has directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to deploy the system, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a statement.
The move will put American soldiers manning the ground-based anti-missile system, which is designed to defend against ballistic missiles, closer to the widening war in the Middle East, notes the "New York Times".
The newspaper also reported that the Israeli military showed journalists just across the border in southern Lebanon stockpiles of explosives and mines belonging to Hezbollah, evidence of the movement's deep-rooted military infrastructure in the area along the border with Israel.
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News that the US is sending a THAAD missile defense battery to Israel, along with about 100 US troops, deepens US involvement in the crisis-hit region, the "Guardian" points out.
The last time the US sent such a missile system to the Middle East was immediately after attacks by "Hamas" against Israel on October 7 last year.
When asked why he decided to authorize the deployment, US President Joe Biden said: "To protect Israel", which is considering an expected retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on October 1.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder described the deployment as part of "broader corrective actions the U.S. military has taken in recent months" to support Israel and protect U.S. personnel from attacks by Iran and groups supported by him.
US officials did not say how soon the system would be deployed in Israel, and a spokesman for the Israeli military declined to provide a timetable for its arrival, notes the "Guardian".
Earlier yesterday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the US was putting the lives of its soldiers at risk by "sending them to work with US missile systems in Israel”. "Although in recent days we have made great efforts to contain a total war in our region, I say clearly that we have no red lines in the defense of our people and interests,”, Aragchi wrote on the "X" social network.
A single THAAD battery typically requires about 100 military personnel to operate. It consists of six truck-mounted launchers with eight interceptors on each launcher and a powerful radar.
Early today "Hezbollah” threatened Israel with further attacks if the offensive of Israeli troops in Lebanon continues.