Israel on Monday killed a top Hezbollah commander in a strike on south Lebanon, the Iran-backed group and a security official said, as regional tensions soar amid the Gaza war.

Hezbollah in a statement announced the killing of a "commander" for the first time in three months of cross-border clashes with Israeli forces.

It said Wissam Hassan Tawil had died "on the road to Jerusalem" -- the phrase used by the Shiite Muslim movement for fighters killed by Israel.

Students rush from class to the anti-missile shelter at the High School of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, an early-morning exercise that has become a ritual during the Gaza war.

The youngsters seem unfazed by the drills, joking together as they skip down the stairs to the large reinforced room on the second floor, behind a heavy security door.

Head teacher Ilana Uritsky is battling to keep a sense of normality and routine, which she says is vital to protect the mental health of her pupils.

Lucas Moraes grabbed his first Dakar stage victory on Monday as Yazeed Al-Rajhi finished third to take the overall lead in the car class.

In the bikes, Kevin Benavides claimed victories as a host of his rivals were penalised for speeding and two-time winner Sam Sunderland was knocked out of the race by mechanical problem ended his interest in this year's edition, organisers said.

Moraes, a Brazilian Toyota driver won the 438km third stage by just nine seconds from Swede Mattias Ekstrom in an Audi.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv late Monday as part of a regional tour seeking to avert regional escalation as Israel pounded Hamas-ruled Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah said an Israeli strike killed a top commander.

Palestinian militants reported fierce ground combat in southern Gaza, where Israel says its focus has shifted along with the territory's centre three months into its war with Hamas.

Igor Stimac says Indian football is "definitely out of its slumber" but the outspoken coach warned against big expectations at the Asian Cup starting on Friday in Qatar.

Football has struggled to find its feet in the cricket-obsessed nation of 1.4 billion people, with former FIFA president Sepp Blatter once calling India "a sleeping giant" of the sport.

Former West Ham and Derby defender Stimac was appointed coach in May 2019 and India briefly broke into the top 100 of FIFA's world rankings for only the second time in nearly three decades.

A British-Palestinian doctor who worked in Gazan hospitals during the Israel-Hamas conflict hopes that testimony he has given to UK police will lead to prosecutions for war crimes.

Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic surgeon specialising in conflict injuries, spent 43 days volunteering in the besieged Palestinian territory, mostly at the al-Ahli and Shifa hospitals in the north.

Dakar Rally veteran Stephane Peterhansel notched up a record-equalling 50th stage win on Sunday as Spanish rider Carles Falcon was reported in a "serious condition" after crashing in Saudi Arabia.

Falcon, who made his Dakar debut in 2022, was nearing the second stage finish line when he suffered a bad accident.

"Immediately notified by another racer who was following him, the organisation dispatched a medical helicopter which took care of the injured motorcyclist in a condition considered serious. He was airlifted to Al-Duwadimi hospital," race organiser ASO said.

Spanish motorcyclist Carles Falcon was helicoptered to hospital with serious injuries in Saudi Arabia on Sunday after crashing during the second stage of the Dakar Rally.

The high-speed race over jagged rocks and winding sand dunes in the Saudi desert was almost complete when the experienced off-road rider from Tarragona suffered an accident.

Audi veteran Stephane Peterhansel left his rivals trailing in the dust on stage two of the Dakar Rally on Sunday in a treacherous 463km race through the winding dunes of the Saudi desert.

Only nine-time rally world champion Sebastien Loeb got anywhere near Peterhansel at 29sec as American rookie Seth Quintero came home third at 3min 11sec.

The 58-year-old Peterhansel scooped his 50th Dakar Rally stage win to become joint record holder with Ari Vatanen.

"I stopped counting a long time ago, but it's good to know I can still beat him," Peterhansel said.

Israel pounded Gaza on Sunday as its war with Hamas raged into a fourth month, while top US diplomat Antony Blinken decried the "tragedy" of civilian deaths and warned the conflict threatened the wider region.

US Secretary of State Blinken, speaking in Qatar on the latest leg of his fourth Middle East tour since the start of the war, also said Palestinians displaced by the fighting must be allowed to "return home".

The Qatar-based Al Jazeera network said two journalists working for it were killed when their car was struck in Rafah, in southern Gaza.