An American Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery that President Biden deployed to Israel earlier this year was used on Friday for the first time to attempt to intercept a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis, Reuters has reported.
The attack came after Israel bombed the Sanaa International Airport in Yemen, almost killing the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Houthis said they launched a missile at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in response.
The Israeli military said the Houthi missile was intercepted by Israeli air defenses, but it’s unclear if it was the THAAD that actually downed the missile. The Reuters report said “an analysis” of the THAAD missile launch would determine its success.”
The US sent the THAAD battery and about 100 troops to operate it to Israel in October to back an Israeli attack on Iran. About a week after the THAAD became operational, Israel launched airstrikes in Iran.
In recent weeks, the Houthis have stepped up their operations against Israel, and some missiles have gotten past Israeli air defenses. The US and Israel have stepped up their attacks on Yemen, which have done nothing but escalate the situation as the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, are vowing they won’t back down.
Yemeni media reported that the US and the UK launched a new round of airstrikes against Sanaa on Friday night, but so far, the US military has not taken credit for the attack. The US began its bombing campaign against the Houthis in January 2024, which was launched in defense of Israeli shipping.
