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The US will send an advanced air defense system to Israel

2024-10-13 23:16:19Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA ASSOCIATED PRESS
THAAD

The United States will send an advanced air defense system (THAAD) and troops to Israel, the Pentagon announced on Sunday. The announcement comes as Iran warned Washington to keep US military forces out of Israel.

Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had authorized the deployment of the THAAD system based on a directive from President Joe Biden.

Mr Ryder said the system would help bolster Israel's air defenses after two Iranian missile attacks in April and October.

"This decision underscores the ironclad commitment of the United States to the defense of Israel and to protecting Americans stationed there from any further ballistic missile attacks from Iran," Mr. Ryder said.

The deployment of a sophisticated missile defense system to Israel risks further inflaming the conflict in the Middle East, despite widespread diplomatic efforts to avert a wider regional war.

Through a post on the social platform X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pointed to reports that the US was considering the possibility of deploying such a system.

Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon have clashed since October 8, 2023, when the Lebanese militant group began firing rockets across the border in support of its ally, Hamas, which operates in Gaza. Late last month, Israel launched a ground operation in Lebanon.

Israel is widely believed to be preparing a military response to Iran's Oct. 1 attack, which included about 180 ballistic missiles.

In brief comments Sunday to reporters before leaving Florida President Biden said he decided to deploy the THAAD system "to protect Israel." Mr. Biden spoke at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa after making a quick visit to see first-hand the damage caused by Hurricane Milton.

It is not yet known when the THAAD system will arrive in Israel. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, declined to give a timeline but thanked the United States for its support.

The US deployed one of the THAAD systems to the Middle East along with additional Patriot systems to bolster defenses for US forces in the region late last year, following the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas militants.

The Pentagon spokesman also said the US had sent a THAAD system to Israel in 2019 for training.

It is also not unusual for the United States to have a limited number of troops in Israel, a country Washington considers a key ally. In general, Washington has consistently maintained a small number of forces in the country, as well as conducting routine rotational training and exercise deployments.

According to an April congressional report, the US military has seven advanced THAAD systems.

Each consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 ??interceptors, radio and radar equipment and requires 95 soldiers to operate.

THAAD is considered a system that complements the Patriot system, but can provide the protection of a wider area. It can hit targets located at a distance of 150 to 200 kilometers.


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