From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Advance team of US military personnel, initial THAAD components arrived in Israel — Pentagon
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
An advance team of US military personnel and initial components necessary to operate the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery arrived in Israel yesterday, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder says in a statement.
Additional US military personnel and THAAD battery components will continue to arrive in Israel over the coming days, Ryder says.
The air defense battery will be fully operational capable in the near future, but an exact timeline will not be discussed due to security concerns, Ryder adds.
“The deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel underscores the United States’ commitment to the defense of Israel and to defend Americans in Israel from any ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” he says.
