Virginia: The US is sending a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Israel, along with US troops to operate it. The Pentagon made the announcement just hours after Iran warned the U.S. to keep its military forces out of Israel. Israel is widely believed to be preparing a military response to Iran's October 1 attack when it fired roughly 180 missiles into Israel.
Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah with waves of heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion at the border after a year of exchanges of fire. Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hamas’ ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.
It’s been a year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
United Hatzalah, an Israeli rescue service, says more than 60 people were injured in a drone strike in central Israel. The Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack in the central city of Binyamina.
Hezbollah said it targeted a military camp in retaliation for the two strikes in Beirut on Thursday, which killed 22 people. It was not immediately clear whether military members were hurt or what was hit.
There were no details from Israel’s military, which earlier reported at least 115 rockets were fired from Lebanon. Israeli media said that two drones were launched from Lebanon, and the military said one drone was intercepted. Israel’s advanced air defense systems mean such a high number of injuries from drones or missiles are exceptionally rare. The strike against Israel was one of the most serious since the start of the war.
