U.S. to deploy about 100 troops inside Israel to operate anti-missile system | 13 Oct 2024 | The U.S. will send an advanced anti-missile system -- and U.S. troops to operate it -- to Israel "to help bolster Israel's air defenses..." the Pentagon said Sunday. It is not the first time the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. troops are deploying to Israel to operate the THAAD battery, according to a U.S. defense official.