The Pentagon confirmed that President Joe Biden ordered the THAAD system to protect Israel from future missile threats, as many of the nearly 200 ballistic missiles launched by Iran were intercepted, though some hit central and southern Israel.
Israel has yet to announce how it will respond to the attack, but Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised a "deadly, precise, and surprising" retaliation. In turn, Iran vowed to respond to any Israeli retaliation.
The THAAD system deployment signals the U.S.' strong commitment to Israel's security and its efforts to protect both Israelis and Americans from Iranian missile threats. While the U.S. has previously sent THAAD batteries to the region, deploying a crew is a rarer move. Iran’s missile barrage was reportedly in retaliation for Israel's assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. Israel has since escalated airstrikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have so far failed. The THAAD system, developed by Lockheed Martin, is designed to counter various missile threats and complements Israel's existing defense systems, including Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow systems.
