The US Defense Department says its Special Operations Forces are in Israel to offer advice and intelligence support to help locate hostages held by Hamas.
Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder spoke at a news conference on Tuesday.
Ryder said the Pentagon was aware that a medium-range ballistic missile or a cruise missile targeting Israel was fired by Houthis, an Iranian-backed rebel group in Yemen. The missile was downed by Israel over the Red Sea.
Ryder added that US has decided to deploy an additional 300 troops to the US Central Command in the Middle East.
He said those troops are not going to Israel, but will support deterrence efforts to further bolster US force protection capabilities in the region.