Middle East latest: US says it will send THAAD defense battery to Israel, along with US troops

The U.S. 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 Oct. 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.