Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Thursday (October 19) that during the past two weeks, the U.S. has been flying military support for Israel, including two Iron Dome missile defense systems it had previously purchased.

Ryder told the media that a number of artillery ammunition and other categories of critical equipment will be flown over to Israel in the following days.

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Iron Dome was developed by state-owned Rafael Advanced Defence Systems with U.S. backing to counter rocket fire from Lebanon that hit Israeli towns during the 2006 war with Hezbollah, and from Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas Islamists took control in 2007. It became operational in 2011.

In August 2022, Israel said Iron Dome interceptor had shot down 97% of Palestinian rockets it had engaged during a weekend surge of Gaza fighting.