FIRST OFF . . .

Israeli army and police officials have disputed a widely publicized report that “Rambo III” star Sylvester Stallone was threatened by nearby fighting while staying at his Eilat, Israel, hotel. Michael Idan, the Israeli southern district police spokesman, said Thursday there was no gun battle anywhere near Stallone’s hotel, contradicting a Monday report that Stallone fled machine-gun fire. Instead, Idan said, Israeli soldiers set off flares to stop a French tourist in search of fresh dates from climbing a fence and sneaking across the nearby Israeli-Jordanian border. “There was absolutely no gunfire involved,” added Idan. But Stallone’s chief security officer, Tony Maffatone, disputed the Israeli statements, saying he witnessed a four-minute battle in which hundreds of rounds of machine-gun fire were exchanged.