Washington DC - In a watershed moment for US involvement in Israel's wars on Gaza and Lebanon, the Biden administration will officially put troops on its ally's territory.

In a statement released Sunday, the Pentagon said "a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and associated crew of US military personnel" would be deployed to Israel in order to defend it from any potential Iranian attacks.

CBS News quoted an official who said around 100 troops are expected to accompany and operate the weapons system, which is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles.

"This action underscores the United States' ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran," the DOD statement said.

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The move comes amid clear indications that Israel is planning a major strike on Iran, in response to a salvo of missiles fired by Tehran at the start of the month. That attack was itself in retaliation to the unprecedented Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian territory, as well as the invasion of Lebanon.

Even as the Biden and members of his administration have urged caution in public, all mentions of a ceasefire – either in Lebanon or in Gaza, the destruction of which is the catalyst for this full-blown conflict – have ceased in Washington.

Instead, the US has made it clear that it is unconditionally committed to protecting Israel from the consequences of its actions in the region, despite widespread accusations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

The official deployment of troops – their technical brief notwithstanding – takes this commitment to another level.