The Pentagon has confirmed it is sending a high-altitude anti-missile system operated by US troops to Israel. Officials say the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) battery will bolster Israeli air defences after Iran’s missile attack on the country earlier this month.

The Pentagon on Tuesday granted honorable discharges to more than 800 veterans who were separated from the U.S. military because of their sexual orientation during the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which was in effect from February 1994 to September 2011.

The policy prohibited openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people from serving in the armed forces. The policy took effect in 1994 during the Clinton administration and was considered a compromise measure from a previous Defense Department policy that prohibited gay and lesbian people from serving.