Middle East crisis live: Iran preparing to ‘imminently’ launch ballistic missile attack against Israel, US official warns | Lebanon

There are reports of air raid sirens going off in Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest commercial center with an urban population over four million and also of residents being told to enter or be ready to enter bomb shelters for protection.

The Jerusalem Post reported that people in Tel Aviv are being told to seek shelter against warnings of an imminent missile attack from Iran.

The Times of Israel reported that: “Rocket alert sirens are sounding in dozens of towns across central Israel and the Sharon region as well as in the northern West Bank, including Kfar Saba, Kafr Kassem, Rosh Ha’ayin and Hod Hasharon.” And also that explosions have been heard near Tel Aviv.

There are no reports yet of missiles actually striking any targets in Israel.

An Axios reporter posted on X about air raid sirens.

And also about hearing that the imminent attack from Iran that is being reported will use ballistic missiles that can reach Israel within 12 minutes.

The US embassy in Israel has directed all American government employees and their family members in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza to shelter in place until further notice.

In a security alert release on its website, the embassy wrote:

As a result of the current security situation, the US embassy has directed all US government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice. This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans.

The US embassy in Jerusalem reminds US citizens of the continued need for caution and increased personal security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire and unmanned aircraft system UAS intrusions, often take place without warning.

The security environment remains complex and can change quickly depending on the political situation and recent events.

In response to security incidents and without advance notice, the US Embassy may further restrict or prohibit US government employees and their family members from traveling to certain areas of Israel (including the Old City of Jerusalem) and the West Bank.

Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel could be as big or potentially bigger than the one in April, if it goes ahead, a US official has told Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

US officials have said Iran appeared to be preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the IDF is on a high state of alert and that an Iranian attack on Israel would have repercussions.

In April, Iran launched hundreds of drones as well as cruise missiles towards Israel, in the Islamic Republic’s first ever direct attack on the Jewish state, in response to the strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in the Syrian capital, Damascus, which killed a senior figure in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards and eight other officers.

Egypt’s foreign minister condemned what Cairo described as Israel’s “serious escalation” in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli military said it launched a “limited and focused” ground incursion.

Badr Abdelaty warned that Israel’s escalation threatens to inflame the entire region “in a way that will lead to dire security and humanitarian consequences,” according to a statement from the Egyptian foreign ministry.

Abdelaty also said Egypt will reject any attempts to establish a new status quo that violates Lebanon’s sovereignty. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday he had ordered the immediate dispatch of emergency medical and humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, says it has launched missiles towards Sde Dov airbase on the outskirts of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, Reuters has reported in a snap alert.

Hezbollah said its fighters launched “a salvo of Fadi-4 rockets at the Sde Dov air base in Tel Aviv”, adding the attack came in defence of Lebanon and “in response to the targeting of civilians and the massacres that the enemy carried out”.

AP reports Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior US administration official, who warned Tuesday of “severe consequences” should it take place. White House officials did not immediately offer any evidence backing its intelligence finding.

William Christou reports from Beirut for the Guardian

Israel carried out at least two airstrikes in Dahieh, the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, with the sounds of the strikes heard across the city and two smoke plumes seen emanating from Dahieh. A low-flying drone was heard flying over Beirut and Dahieh for at least an hour preceding the strikes, the target of which was unclear.

The IDF has announced in a message on Telegram that Israel’s military is calling up “four additional reserve brigades for operational missions in the northern arena”.

• The Israeli military has begun what it called a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, as it continued shelling areas close to the border and carrying out airstrikes on the capital, Beirut

• Israel’s military spokesperson ordered the residents of about 30 border villages in south Lebanon to evacuate. Earlier an IDF spokesperson claimed there had been “heavy fighting”, but a later statement to Reuters from a security source suggested there had been no direct engagement between Israeli troops inside Lebanon and Hezbollah

• Israel’s military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel would do “whatever necessary” to avoid a 7 October style attack happening again on “any one of our borders”. He claimed Hezbollah had turned Lebanese villages near Israeli villages at the UN-drawn blue line into military bases from which to spring an attack

• Lebanon’s government has said about 1,000 people have been killed, about 6,000 wounded and one million displaced from their homes as a result of Israeli attacks in recent days. Israel’s military claims it is targeting Hezbollah and terrorist infrastructure. Local residents have told Reuters that at least 600 people have sought refuge in a monastery on the Israel-Lebanon border as airstrikes continue

• Caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati has made an appeal for more international aid, saying “Lebanon is facing one of the most dangerous stages in its history, as about one million of our people have been displaced due to the devastating war waged by Israel on Lebanon”

• Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said Israel should end the operation. Spain is currently commanding the UN peacekeeping force Unifil in Lebanon, which said it had been warned by the Israelis about their plans. Turkey and Russia have also condemned Israel’s move to open up a new ground front in its conflict. Turkey said it was an illegal attempt at occupation that violated Lebanese territorial integrity

• One of the UN’s social media accounts posted to remind members that article 2.4 of the UN Charter states that “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”

• Poland has said will limit the number of staff at its embassy in Beirut. The UK government has chartered a plane to bring British people who want to leave back to the UK. A helicopter carrier from France will arrive in the eastern Mediterranean in the next five to six days and take up position in case a decision is taken to evacuate foreign nationals

• Two Israelis were injured when a rocket hit a road in central Israel. The Israeli military extended home front safety restrictions on Tuesday to many towns and cities across the country, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Gatherings are limited and workplaces and educational setting can only open if they have access to protected spaces

• Israeli airstrikes have also reportedly hit Syria. Syria’s official news agency Sana said early on Tuesday the country’s air defence systems had intercepted three rounds of strikes in the Damascus area. Sana reported three civilians killed and nine others wounded. Israel has struck at least three anti-aircraft radar stations in southern Syria, including one stationed in a military airfield, Reuters has been told by sources

• At least 41,638 Palestinian people have been killed and 96,460 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The toll includes 23 people killed in the last 24-hour reporting period, according to the ministry

• The Palestine Red Crescent Society reports that two of its staff were fired at with live ammunition by Israeli security forces at the entrance of Balata camp in Nablus when they were trying to transport an injured person. One Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces in Nablus, while Israeli media reports four of its security forces were wounded

• Yemen’s Houthi movement targeted Israeli military posts in Tel Aviv and Eilat with drones on Tuesday, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised speech. There were also reports of a vessel being targeted in the Red Sea

Israeli forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon for months, uncovering Hezbollah tunnels and weapon caches under homes and uncovering invasion plans by the militant group, the spokesperson for the Israeli military has said, according to Reuters.

Daniel Hagari said the details are being declassified for the first time, hours after Israel officially announced a ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military’s claims have not yet been independently verified by us. We will give you more on Hagari’s comments as soon as we get more information on them.

Israel has struck at least three anti-aircraft radar stations in southern Syria, including one stationed in a military airfield, Reuters has been told be sources. These reports have not been independently verified by the Guardian.

The drone strikes hit two radar stations west of the city of Sweida, including one located in an airbase in the area, the two military sources told Reuters, while another hit a radar station in the adjoining Daraa province. They are part of the Syrian army’s air defences in the southern region, the sources said.

Syrian state media reported early on Tuesday that three civilians had been killed in Israeli strikes on the capital Damascus (see opening summary for more details).

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but these attacks have intensified since last October.