The United States of America is sending at least 100 troops along with advanced missile defence systems to Israel, as the Jewish state’s war against Hezbollah and Hamas groups expands on many fronts.
Indications emerged yesterday that President Biden had approved the deployment of Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System, or THAAD, to help Israel fortify its airspace from short and mid-range ballistic missiles from Lebanon, Iran and Yemen among others.
Security experts say THAAD can strike down ballistic missiles the class of nearly 200 missiles that the Iranians deployed against Israel in the 1 October missile blitzes, which hit different parts of the country.
A CNN report described THAAD as “the only US missile defence system that can engage and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles both inside or outside the atmosphere during their terminal phase of flight, or dive on their target.”
It further added that the the US Army is also dispatching about 100 troops to Israel to operate the battery, according to the Pentagon.
“Iran has informed the US it would retaliate against any new attack by Israel”, a source in Tehran told CNN on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s drone attack on an Israeli military base has led to the death of four soldiers.
Israel Defence Force, IDF, Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said an investigation was ongoing to unravel how the drone attack deep into Israeli territory without being spotted or triggering alarm.
“The threat of UAVs (unmanned Armed Vehicles) is a threat that we have been dealing with since the beginning of the war,” Hagari said, in a CNN report monitored in our Lagos office.
