Israel hit targets in south Gaza and across its border with Lebanon, the army said ahead of a visit by top US diplomat Antony Blinken who is seeking to avert a wider war, AFP reports.

Gaza’s health ministry said 73 dead and 99 wounded arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah city over the previous 24 hours.

In the southern city of Khan Younis, troops and warplanes overnight Sunday-Monday struck 30 militant targets which a military statement described as “significant”. These included underground targets and weapons storage facilities, it said.

A drone also killed 10 militants “preparing to launch rockets toward Israeli territory”, the statement added. Also overnight, the military said it had hit “numerous Hezbollah targets” in Lebanon.