Approximately 900 US troops have been deployed or are
being deployed to the Middle East amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, said Pentagon
spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder, reported CNN.
He stated that deployed or deploying units include
Terminal High Altitude Area Defence battery from Fort Bliss Texas, Patriot
batteries from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Patriot and Avenger batteries from Fort
Liberty, North Carolina.
Addressing a press briefing, Ryder said, “I can
confirm that since our initial Force posture announcement approximately 900
troops have subsequently deployed or are in the process of deploying to the US
Central Command area of responsibility these include forces that have been on
prepared to deploy orders and which are deploying from the continental United
States.”
Ryder did not reveal the specific deployment location
for these forces. However, he noted that these forces were not heading to
Israel and they were intended to support regional deterrence efforts and
further bolster US force protection capabilities.
“Deployed and deploying units include a Terminal High
Altitude Area Defence battery from Fort Bliss Texas, Patriot batteries from
Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Patriot and Avenger batteries from Fort Liberty, North
Carolina, and associated air defence headquarters elements from Fort Bliss and
Fort Cavazos Texas while I won’t talk specific deployment locations for these
forces I can confirm that they are not going to Israel and that again they are
intended to support regional deterrence efforts and further bolster US force
protection capabilities,” Ryder said.
The Pentagon official added that between October 17
and 26, US and coalition forces were attacked at least 12 separate times in
Iraq and four separate times in Syria by a mix of one-way attack drones and
rockets.
He announced that US is planning to provide the two American
iron dome systems to Israel to help further bolster its defence capabilities.
“I can confirm that in addition to the iron dome
interceptors were flowing to Israel. We’re also planning to provide the two US
iron dome systems currently in our inventory to Israel to help further bolster
their air defence capabilities and protect citizens from rocket attacks for
operation security reasons I’m not going to discuss shipment timelines or
delivery dates and we’ll defer to Israel to make any announcements regarding
future deployment and use of these systems,” Ryder said.
His remarks come after the Pentagon put roughly 2,000
US troops on prepare-to-deploy orders last week, which US Deputy Pentagon Press
Secretary Sabrina Singh had said were focused on providing “air defence,
security, logistics, medical, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,
and transportation” support,” according to a CNN report.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has
spoken with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and discussed the need to
facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza and to ensure the protection of
civilians.
“Today I spoke with Israeli Minister of Defence
Gallant. We discussed the need to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza and to
ensure the protection of civilians. I expressed the US commitment to deterring
escalation, and our hope for the release of the remaining hostages,” the US
Defence Secretary posted on ‘X’ on Thursday.
A readout by the US Department of Defence stated, “Secretary
of Defence Lloyd J Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav
Gallant today to receive updates on Israel’s operations to restore security
following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack.”
The department said Austin reiterated his appreciation
for Israel’s role in facilitating humanitarian aid convoys into Gaza and
repeated his calls for Israel to ensure the protection of civilians.
The two leaders acknowledged the release of two
hostages on October 23 and called for the release of the remaining hostages,
the statement read.
ANI
