This US military file photo shows a US Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launching station in Israel on March 4, 2019. 
Credit: Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne / US Air Force

The US will send an advanced anti-missile system — and US troops to operate it — to Israel “to help bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1,” the Pentagon said Sunday.

It is not the first time the US has deployed the system, the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, to the Middle East, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in the statement, and the system was also deployed to Israel in 2019 for an exercise. But the deployment of additional US troops to Israel is notable amid the heightened tensions between Israel and Iran, and as the region braces for a potential Israeli attack on Iran that could continue to escalate hostilities.

Approximately 100 US troops are deploying to Israel to operate the THAAD battery, according to a US defense official. It is rare […]

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