For the first time, Israel used a highly advanced air defense system supplied by America to intercept a ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthis. 

The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system was activated early Friday morning as Israelis rushed to shelters around 3:29 a.m. as sirens rang out around the country. The Israeli news outlet Ynet reported the interception prevented damage although more than a dozen people were treated for injuries sustained as they raced to shelters. 

America sent the Thaad system, one of its most advanced missile defenses, and the 100 American soldiers who help operate it to Israel after Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile strike. The attack showed that the Jewish state’s existing air defense systems could be overwhelmed as several Iranian missiles made it to the ground.

In a video from the moment the Thaad system intercepted the Houthi missile Friday, an American soldier is heard saying, “I’ve waited 18 years for this.”

The Houthi missile launch disrupted some air travel as flights en route to Israel diverted over the Mediterranean. However, flights were allowed to land roughly 30 minutes after the sirens stopped. 

The use of the Thaad battery comes as Israel has faced near-daily missile and drone attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and after Israel launched what it described as “significant” strikes against the rebel group.

On Thursday, Israel attacked Sana’a and Hodeidah in Yemen. The Jerusalem Post reported that the strikes, which occurred during a “victory” speech by the Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, targeted the runway of the Sana’a International Airport as well as the control tower and aircraft on the ground.

The Al-Arabiya Channel also reported that Israel targeted the Houthi headquarters at Sana’a, as well as the Haziz power plant, the Hodeidah port, and oil refineries.

The Houthis have been carrying out raids in the Red Sea, crippling crucial shipping lanes in “solidarity” with Hamas after its October 7 attack last year. 

Israel has two ground-based mobile launchers that can intercept missiles at high altitudes, the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems. The Arrow 3 system can also reach above the atmosphere. 

The Pentagon said last year it would send a Thaad battery to the Middle East after “escalations” from Iran following the October  7 attack. However, at the time, it did not identify a specific location for where the system would be deployed. 

A Pentagon spokesman, Pat Ryder, said the Thaad system would “augment Israel’s integrated air defense system.”

“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,” he added.

There are just nine active Thaad battery systems in the world, with seven of them operated by the U.S. Army. Five of them are deployed to bases in Texas, Guam, and South Korea. 

A Thaad battery is comprised of six truck-mounted launchers, 95 soldiers, 48 interceptor missiles, a radar surveillance system, and a command and control system, according to the Congressional Research Service. 

The system can intercept missiles flying at high altitudes and even above the atmosphere. It can also intercept projectiles at lower altitudes or shorter-range missiles that are part of Hezbollah’s arsenal.