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US President Joe Biden's administration on Sunday authorised the transfer of an advanced anti-missile system and troops to operate it as Israel escalates its Lebanon invasion.
The move was announced as a drone attack by Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah struck central Israel, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens of other people. It was one of the deadliest strikes against Israeli forces since the country stepped up attacks on Lebanon late last month.
The Pentagon said it was sending a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) battery and “associated” personnel. It follows an Iranian missile attack against Israel on October 1 launched in retaliation for the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The barrage was Iran's second direct attack on Israel after missiles and drones were fired in April.
“This action underscores the United States' ironclad commitment to the defence of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder said.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Washington against the transfer in a post on X earlier on Sunday, saying it was “putting the lives of its troops at risk”.
He said Tehran had “no red lines” in defending its regional interests.
A Thaad battery usually requires about 100 troops to operate. It involves six lorry-mounted launchers, with eight interceptors on each launcher, and a radar system.
Mr Biden sent a Thaad battery to the Middle East last year after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that led to the war in Gaza.
The Thaad is intended to complement the Patriot system, with a wider target range of between 150km and 200km.
Sunday's drone attack on central Israel hit an army base near Binyamina, south of the city of Haifa, the Israeli army said.
“This was a very difficult scene; we declared it a mass-casualty event and treated patients suffering from blast injuries and shrapnel,” said Rafi Sheva, a paramedic with Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service.
Hezbollah has launched drone and rocket attacks on Israel on a near-daily basis over the past year, but Sunday's attack caused more casualties than any other with at least 67 people hurt, according to Israeli medical sources.
The militant group said the attack was in response to recent Israeli strikes on central Beirut and that the target was a training ground for one of Israel’s main infantry units.
The Thaad order by Washington is the latest show of US support for Israel's escalating regional war, despite repeated words of concern over its ally's conduct.
As recently as Saturday, Defence Secretary Austin Lloyd expressed “deep concern” to Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant over reports that Israeli forces had fired at UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
On Sunday, the State Department said it was aware of reports that Israeli military strikes in Lebanon have injured UN peacekeepers and Washington has “made it clear to the Israeli government that this is unacceptable and pressed them for more details”.
“We are also heart-broken and devastated by the loss of innocent life due to recent strikes in Beirut. We have told Israel directly that we oppose Israel’s campaign of near-daily strikes in densely populated areas in Beirut,” a State Department representative said.
“It is critical that these operations be conducted in a way that does not threaten the lives of civilians, UN peacekeepers or members of the Lebanese Armed Forces.”
The Biden administration has funnelled billions of extra dollars to support Israel's war in Gaza, and now its invasion of Lebanon, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly ignoring Washington's pleas to de-escalate and avoid a wider regional conflict that could draw in Iran.
At the start of Israel's Lebanon invasion, which followed its bombing of a Beirut suburb that killed Nasrallah and the deadly explosions of thousands of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members, also blamed on Israel, Washington had again called for a ceasefire.
But after Tehran's retaliatory strike on Tel Aviv, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller conceded “it's a different world”, further signalling that Washington was settling into the reality of a prolonged Israeli war in Lebanon.
There have been increasing efforts by progressive Democrats in Washington to halt the Biden administration's support for Israel, as its war has killed more than 42,200 in Gaza and more than 2,200 in Lebanon.
Fighting began after the events of October 7 last year, when Hamas fighters entered Israel. The Israeli government said 1,200 people were killed that day and more than 200 taken hostage.
In a critical US election year, this splintering inside Mr Biden's Democratic party has threatened Vice President Kamala Harris' odds in critical swing states such as Michigan, where there is a big Arab-American population, in November's presidential election.
