The US announced on Sunday, the 13th of October, that it will send an advanced US THAAD missile system and troops to Israel to operate it, in a highly unusual move aimed at strengthening the country’s air defences, with President Joe Biden saying the move was “for Israel’s defence” as Israel considers retaliatory measures after Iran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on the 1st of October, reports Reuters.
The US has urged Israel to respond with restraint to avoid escalation in the Middle East, with President Biden publicly opposing an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder described the move as part of a “broader effort by the US military in recent months” to support Israel and protect US personnel from attacks by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.
The deployment of US military forces in Israel is unusual as Israel normally relies on its own defence capabilities and the US has so far assisted Israel’s defence with warships and fighter jets from outside Israel.
But experts believe that Iran is trying to avoid a direct war with the US, so the deployment of US forces in Israel is another factor that could influence Iran’s next steps.
The US will deploy the THAAD missile defence system in Israel, reinforcing its already strong missile defence. THAAD, which requires about 100 soldiers to operate it, consists of six launchers with eight interceptors each and a powerful radar.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned on Sunday that the US was endangering the lives of its soldiers by “sending them to Israel to service US missile systems”.
“While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain a full-scale war in our region, I make it clear that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests,” Araqchi wrote on X.
US officials did not say how soon the system would be deployed in Israel.
On Sunday, Hezbollah said it had attacked the Israeli army’s Golani Brigade camp in Binyamin, northern Israel, with a “swarm of drones”, with the Israeli armed forces saying that four of its soldiers had been killed and seven seriously wounded in the incident.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces reportedly intensified operations in northern Gaza. In the early hours of Monday morning, three people were killed and 40 wounded in an attack on displaced Palestinian tents near the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, which housed an estimated one million people.