The US will send about 100 troops to operate an advanced missile defense system in Israel amid rising tensions

CNN
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The US will send an advanced missile defense system – and US troops to operate it – to Israel “to bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran's unprecedented attacks on Israel on April 13 and again on October 1,” the Pentagon said on Sunday.

It is not the first time the U.S. has deployed the system, the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, in the Middle East, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in the statement, and the system was deployed in 2019 as well sent to Israel for an exercise. However, given the rising tensions between Israel and Iran and the fact that the region is preparing for a possible Israeli attack on Iran that could further escalate hostilities, the deployment of additional US troops to Israel is noteworthy.

According to a US defense official, about 100 US soldiers have been deployed to Israel to operate the THAAD battery. It is rare for U.S. troops to be stationed inside Israel, but this is a typical number of troops operating the missile defense system.

The THAAD system is specifically intended for ballistic missile defense and could help Israel better defend itself against a future Iranian attack if Iran decides to respond to an Israeli attack.

The US has been consulting with Israel about how it will respond to Iran's attack on the country on October 1, and US officials have made clear that they do not want Israel to target Iranian nuclear facilities or oil fields. US President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, his first conversation in nearly two months, and told him that Israel's retaliation should be “proportionate.”

The US military has significantly increased its presence in the Middle East since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The US has bolstered its air defenses across the region, deployed additional warships and aircraft carriers in the eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, and recently sent additional troops to Cyprus to help plan a possible evacuation, CNN previously reported.