JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran launched at least 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies that threatens to push the Middle East closer to a region-wide war.

The orange glow of rockets streaked across Israel’s night sky as air raid sirens sounded and residents rushed into shelters. Israel has vowed retaliation for Iran’s barrage, which it said caused only a few injuries.

Before Iran’s attack, Israel had landed a number of them devastating blows in recent weeks against the leadership of Hezbollah in Lebanon. It then increased pressure on the Iran-backed militant group – which has since fired rockets into Israel. the war in Gaza began – by launching what it said was a limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

Israel has said it will continue to attack Hezbollah until it is safe for civilians driven from homes near the border with Lebanon to return. Hezbollah has vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza with Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defenses intercepted many of the incoming Iranian missiles, although some landed in central and southern Israel. Israel’s National Rescue Service said two people were slightly injured by shrapnel. In the West Bank, Palestinian officials said a Palestinian man was killed by a rocket that fell near the city of Jericho, although it was not clear where the attack came from.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late Tuesday to take revenge on Iran, which he said “made a big mistake tonight and will pay for it.”

Israel and Iran have been waging a shadow war for years, but have rarely ended up in direct conflict.

Israel considers Iran its greatest enemy – citing Iran’s repeated calls for Israel’s destruction, its support for Arab militant groups and its nuclear program. Iran denies Israeli accusations that it is developing a nuclear weapon.

Just before Iran launched its missiles, a shooting attack in Tel Aviv killed six people, police said, adding that the two suspects who opened fire on a boulevard in the Jaffa district had also been killed.

In the US, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called the Iranian missile attack a “significant escalation,” though he said it was ultimately “defeated and ineffective” partly because of the US military’s assistance in shooting down some of the incoming missiles. . President Joe Biden said his administration “fully supports” Israel and that he is “actively discussing” with aides about what the appropriate response to Tehran should be.

The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to address the escalating situation in the Middle East.

Iran launched another direct attack on Israel in April, but… some of his projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a US-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.

Iran said it fired rockets on Tuesday in retaliation for attacks that killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian military. It referred to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guards General Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last week. There was also mention of Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader who was killed in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.

Earlier Tuesday, Israel said it had begun limited ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire pounded southern Lebanese villages, and Hezbollah responded with a barrage of rockets into Israel. There was no immediate word on the victims.

While Hezbollah denied that Israeli forces had entered Lebanon, the Israeli army announced that it had also carried out dozens of covert ground attacks on southern Lebanon almost a year ago.

If true, this would be another humiliating blow to Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in the Middle East. Hezbollah is reeling from weeks of targeted attacks that left people dead Nasrallah and several of its top commanders.

On Tuesday morning, Israel warned people in southern Lebanon to evacuate north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometers from the border and well beyond the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of the country. a zone declared by the UN intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war.

The border area has largely emptied over the past year as the two sides have exchanged fire. But the scope of the evacuation warning raised questions about how deeply Israel plans to send its troops into Lebanon.

Questions arise about whether Israeli forces have entered

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

Ahead of Israel’s announcement of an incursion, U.S. officials said Monday that Israel had launched small ground attacks in Lebanon in preparation for a broader operation.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday that U.N. peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon have seen sporadic incursions by Israeli forces, but “they have not witnessed a large-scale invasion.”

Hagari, the Israeli army spokesman, said Israel has carried out dozens of small raids in Lebanon since October 8, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel after the outbreak of war in Gaza.

Hagari said Israeli forces had crossed the border to gather information and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons. Israel has said Hezbollah was preparing its own October 7-style attack on Israel. It was not immediately possible to confirm these claims.

Hagari said Israel’s objectives with its current ground offensive in Lebanon were limited. “We’re not going to Beirut,” he said.

The Israeli army was accused of lying to the media in 2021 when it released a statement suggesting that ground forces had invaded Gaza. The military played down the incident as a misunderstanding, but knowledgeable military commentators in Israel said it was part of a ruse to lure Hamas into the fight.

Israel attacks more targets and Hezbollah fires rockets

The Israeli military said Hezbollah launched rockets into central Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens and wounding a man. Hezbollah said it fired salvos from a new type of medium-range missile at the headquarters of two Israeli intelligence services near Tel Aviv. Hezbollah had also fired projectiles at Israeli communities near the border, targeting soldiers without wounding anyone.

Israel’s statements indicated that it might concentrate 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 any escalation has raised fears of a broader war in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and the United States. has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel.

According to the Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have killed more than a thousand people in Lebanon in the past two weeks, almost a quarter of them women and children. 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 missiles and rockets. The last round of fighting in 2006 ended in a stalemate, and both sides have spent the past two decades preparing for their next confrontation.

Recent airstrikes have wiped out most of Hezbollah’s top leadership explosions of hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies Hezbollah’s membership indicates that Israel has infiltrated deeply into the group’s upper echelons.

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

As the fighting intensifies, European countries have begun to withdraw their diplomats and citizens from Lebanon.

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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.

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