US Dispatches 100 Troops, Anti-Missile System to Israel

Pentagon officials announced Sunday that it will deliver an advanced missile defense system to Israel and send about 100 troops to operate it. The deployment is the first of US troops to Israel since its war against Hamas began with the attack a year ago on southern Israel. A Pentagon statement said President Biden directed that the ground-based Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system be sent, the New York Times reports. The announcement was made hours after Iran, which fired about 200 missiles at Israeli targets on Oct. 1, warned the US to keep its military personnel out of Israel, per the AP.

Asked Sunday what the reason is for sending the anti-missile system, per the Washington Post, Biden said only "To defend Israel." The mobile system will add a layer of protection for cities and military sites from the sort of short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles Iran used in its strikes. Israel has not yet mounted a retaliatory attack. Anticipating the missile system announcement, Iran's foreign minister made an indirect threat to the American forces. "The US has been delivering record amount of arms to Israel," Abbas Araghchi posted on X. "It is now also putting lives of its troops at risk by deploying them to operate US missile systems in Israel." (More US military stories.)