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About 100 US troops will deploy to Israel to operate anti-missile system
Approximately 100 US troops are deploying to Israel to operate the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, according to a US defense official.
It is rare for US troops to deploy inside Israel but this is a typical number of troops used to operate the anti-missile defense system.
Some context: The US provides billions in military support to Israel every year. According to a 2023 report into international arms transfers by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a think tank that tracks arms sales worldwide, 69% of Israel’s arm imports come from the US.
The US-imported weapons “have played a major role in Israel’s military actions against Hamas and Hezbollah,” the think tank reported, noting that at the end of 2023, thousands of guided bombs and missiles were rapidly delivered from the US to Israel. F-35 and F-15 fighter jets were also delivered to Israel from the US in January 2024.
The US also provides financial assistance to Israel, delivering over $130 billion in bilateral funding since 1948, according to the US State Department. In 2019, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding that ensured the US would annually provide Israel with $33.3 billion from the Foreign Military Financing program, and another $500 million for missile defense.
Israeli army says tank entered UNIFIL base after evacuating injured soldiers
The Israeli army has issued an explanation surrounding an incident at a UNIFIL base in southern Lebanon earlier this morning that drew widespread condemnation.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had earlier said Israeli tanks “forcibly entered” its peacekeeping base. The Israeli army now says a “massive” anti-tank missile was fired against Israeli soldiers.
“In the shooting, two soldiers were seriously injured and needed to be evacuated. For the sake of evacuating the wounded, two tanks drove backward, in a place where they could not advance otherwise in light of the threat of shooting, a few meters towards the UNIFIL position,” the army said in a statement.
Once the shooting was over and the wounded were evacuated, the tanks left their positions, it said. Throughout the incident, the army said it “maintained continuous contact with UNIFIL”, adding that its actions posed no threats to the UN force.
Bunch of BS, this is what UNIFIL stated
“At around 4:30 a.m., while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered the position. They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said in a statement on Sunday.
“The tanks left about 45 minutes later after UNIFIL protested through our liaison mechanism, saying that IDF presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.”
In addition to its position being breached, UNIFIL also said 15 of its soldiers are receiving treatment after another incident in the same area.
“At around 6:40 a.m., peacekeepers at the same position reported the firing of several rounds 100 metres north, which emitted smoke. Despite putting on protective masks, fifteen peacekeepers suffered effects, including skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions, after the smoke entered the camp,” the statement read, without indicating who had fired the rounds.
Lastly, UNIFIL said the IDF had stopped what it said was a “critical logistical movement” near Meiss el Jabal, denying it passage.
A bit more than 'backed up a few meters into a gate'. Why were they there, so close to a UNIFIL base, in the first place. Using UNIFIL as human shields.
Of course Israel is blaming UNIFIL for harboring terrorists
‘Incomprehensible’ that UNIFIL is kept in line of fire: Israel ambassador
It is “incomprehensible” that the UN would not move peacekeepers out of areas in southern Lebanon where Israeli forces are battling Hezbollah fighters, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon has said.
He also claimed that Hezbollah fighters were “using UNIFIL outposts as hiding places and as places of ambushes”.
“The UN’s insistence on keeping the UNIFIL soldiers in the line of fire is incomprehensible,” Danon said.
He added in a statement that the details of an incident involving UNIFIL were being investigated. At least five UN peacekeepers have been injured in Israeli attacks since last week.
