Israel on alert for possible strike from Iran as it vows limited ground incursion in Lebanon

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel warned Lebanese people to evacuate border communities Tuesday to avoid harm from limited ground operations it said were launched against Hezbollah, and said it would retaliate if Hezbollah ally Iran launched a missile attack on Israel that a senior U.S. official said could come “imminently.”

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire pounded southern Lebanese villages where people were ordered to evacuate, and Hezbollah militants responded by firing a barrage of rockets into Israel. There was no immediate word on casualties as fighting intensified and concerns of a wider regional war grew.

A U.S. official warned of “severe consequences” should Iran launch a ballistic missile against Israel. U.S. ships and aircraft are positioned in the region to assist Israel in the event of an attack from Iran, which a second official said could happen tonight. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari also warned of consequences if Iran fired missiles into Israel. Iran’s state media has not suggested an attack is imminent, and Iranian officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

White House officials did not immediately offer any evidence backing the intelligence finding.

Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in April, but few of its projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a U.S.-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.

While Hezbollah denied Israeli troops had entered Lebanon, the Israeli army announced it had also carried out dozens of ground raids into southern Lebanon going back nearly a year. Israel released video footage purporting to show its soldiers operating in homes and tunnels where Hezbollah kept weapons.

If true, it would be another humiliating blow for Iran-backed Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in the Middle East. Hezbollah has been reeling from weeks of targeted strikes that killed its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

On Tuesday morning, Israel warned people to evacuate to the north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the border and much farther than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a U.N.-declared zone intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war.

The border region has largely emptied out over the past year as the two sides have traded fire. But the scope of the evacuation warning raised questions as to how deep Israel plans to send its forces into Lebanon.

An Israeli airstrike hit a residential building near Beirut Wednesday, causing damage and blowing out windows in the area. The strike appeared to hit an apartment about 100 meters from the Iranian Embassy. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Anticipating more rocket attacks from Hezbollah, the Israeli army announced new restrictions on public gatherings and closed beaches in northern and central Israel. The military also said it was calling up thousands more reserve soldiers to serve on the northern border.

An Associated Press reporter saw Israeli troops operating near the border in armored trucks, with helicopters circling overhead, but could not confirm ground forces had crossed into Lebanon.

Ahead of the Israeli announcement of an incursion, U.S. officials on Monday said Israel had described launching small ground raids inside Lebanon as it prepared for a wider operation.

Neither the Lebanese army nor a U.N. peacekeeping force that patrols southern Lebanon have confirmed that Israeli forces entered. The U.N. force said a cross-border operation would be a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif dismissed what he said were “false claims” of an Israeli incursion. He said Hezbollah is ready for “direct confrontation with enemy forces that dare to or try to enter Lebanon.”

Hagari, the Israeli military’s top spokesperson, claimed troops were conducting “localized ground raids” on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon to ensure Israeli citizens could return to their homes in the north.

“We’re not going to Beirut,” he said.

He said Israel had carried out dozens of small raids inside Lebanon since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

He said Israeli forces had crossed the border to collect information and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons. Israel has said Hezbollah was preparing its own Oct. 7-style attack into Israel. It was not immediately possible to confirm those claims.

An Israeli military official said troops taking part in the latest incursion were within walking distance of the border, focused on villages hundreds of meters (yards) from Israel. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said there had been no clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

The Israeli military was accused of lying to media in 2021 when it released a statement implying that ground troops had entered Gaza. The military played down the incident as a misunderstanding, but well-sourced military commentators in Israel said it was part of a ruse to lure Hamas into battle.

An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had launched rockets at central Israel, setting off air raid sirens and wounding a man. Hezbollah said it fired salvos of a new kind of medium-range missile at the headquarters of two Israeli intelligence agencies near Tel Aviv.

Afif, the Hezbollah spokesman, said the missile attack “is only the beginning.”

The Israeli military official said Hezbollah had also launched projectiles at Israeli communities near the border, targeting soldiers without wounding anyone.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel ignited the war in Gaza. Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes and the conflict has steadily escalated. In recent weeks Israel has unleashed a punishing wave of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon.

Hagari said the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war had not been enforced and that southern Lebanon was “swarming with Hezbollah terrorists and weapons.”

That resolution called for Hezbollah to withdraw from the area between the border and the Litani River and for the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers to patrol the region. Israel says those and other provisions were never enforced. Lebanon has long accused Israel of violating other terms of the resolution.

The military statements indicated Israel might focus its ground operation on the narrow strip along the border, rather than launching a larger invasion aimed at destroying Hezbollah, as it has attempted in Gaza against Hamas.

Hezbollah and Hamas are close allies backed by Iran, and each escalation has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel.

Israeli strikes have killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.

Hezbollah is a well-trained militia, believed to have tens of thousands of fighters and an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles. The last round of fighting in 2006 ended in a stalemate, and both sides have spent the past two decades preparing for their next showdown.

Recent airstrikes wiping out most of Hezbollah’s top leadership and the explosions of hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah indicate Israel has infiltrated deep inside the group’s upper echelons.

The group’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, said in a televised statement Monday that Hezbollah commanders killed in recent weeks have already been replaced.

As the fighting intensifies, European countries have begun pulling their diplomats and citizens out of Lebanon.

Mroue reported from Beirut and Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Zeke Miller and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

A burnt building shows damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Israeli soldiers sleep on tanks in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Israeli soldiers pray at a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Israeli shelling hits an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

An Israeli Apache helicopter fires a missile towards southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A man checks the damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man documents the damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man documents the damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Israeli army tanks manoeuvre in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Israeli army tanks manoeuvre in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

A burnt out building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

An Israeli tank manoeuvres in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Israeli shelling hits an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, early Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israeli shelling hit an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A man documents the damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Israeli soldiers sleep on tanks in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are retreating from their records Tuesday as worries worsen about potentially escalating violence in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 pulled 1.1% lower, a day after setting an all-time high for the 43rd time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 225 points, or 0.5%, in midday trading after coming off its own record. The Nasdaq composite was 1.7% lower, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Oil prices jumped as worries ratcheted higher that worsening tensions in the Middle East could disrupt the flow of crude from the region. Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior U.S. administration official, who warned Tuesday morning of “severe consequences” should it take place. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 3.7% to top $70.

The sharp swings halted, at least temporarily, what had been a run to records for U.S. stocks. They had been jumping on hopes the U.S. economy can continue to grow despite a slowdown in the job market, as the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to give it more juice. The Fed last month lowered its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years, and it’s indicated it will deliver more cuts through next year.

The question is whether the cuts will ultimately prove to be too little, too late after the Fed earlier kept rates at a two-decade high in hopes of braking on the economy enough to stamp out high inflation.

A discouraging report arrived Tuesday, showing U.S. manufacturing weakened by more in September than economists expected. Manufacturing has been one of the areas of the economy hurt most by high interest rates, and the report from the Institute for Supply Management said demand continues to slow.

A separate report was potentially more encouraging. It showed U.S. employers were advertising more than 8 million job openings at the end of August. That was slightly more than July's number and better than what economists were expecting. A more comprehensive report on hiring will arrive on Friday, when the U.S. government details how many jobs U.S. employers created in September.

Besides the job market, another threat to the economy could lie in the strike by dockworkers at 36 ports across the eastern United States. It could threaten to snarl supply chains and drive up inflation if it lasts a while.

The workers are asking for a labor contract that doesn’t allow automation to take their jobs, among other things. So far, financial markets have been taking the strike in stride. Supply chain experts say consumers won’t see an immediate impact from the strike because most retailers stocked up on goods, moving ahead shipments of holiday gift items.

On Wall Street, the majority of stocks were falling. Among the exceptions were defense contractors that make weapons and oil-and-gas companies that could benefit from higher crude prices.

Northrop Grumman flew 2.7% higher, and Marathon Oil gained 2.8% for two of the bigger gains in the S&P 500.

Signet Jewelers dropped 8% after the diamond retailer said CEO Virginia Drosos is retiring, effective Nov. 4. The company named J.K. Symancyk, who was most recently the CEO of PetSmart, as her successor.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.71% from 3.79% late Monday. Yields fell after worries about the Middle East drove investors into Treasurys, gold and other investments seen as safer.

Yields had already been easing worldwide following an encouraging earlier update on inflation from Europe. Inflation among the 20 countries that use the euro currency came in below 2% in September for the first time in more than three years, and the slowdown could give the European Central Bank leeway to cut interest rates more quickly.

In stock markets abroad, European indexes swung from modest gains to losses. They fell 1% in France and 0.7% in Germany.

Farther east, a quarterly “tankan” survey by the Bank of Japan showed more large manufacturers are still feeling optimistic about business conditions than pessimistic. Japan also reported that its unemployment rate for August fell to 2.5% from 2.7% in July, in line with market expectations.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rallied 1.9% to claw back some of its steep 4.8% loss from the day before.

Markets in China and South Korea were shut for holidays. Mainland Chinese markets, which had their best day since 2008 on Monday, will remain closed until Oct. 7 for the National Day break.

AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

The New York Stock Exchange, right, is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - The Tokyo Stock Exchange building is seen Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)