A top official from Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group on Friday warned Israel would “receive a real slap in the face” if it expanded the conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border.

Since the surprise October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, there have been near daily exchanges of cross-border fire between the Israeli army and militant group Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian militants.

Israel has repeatedly bombarded border villages, with the violence killing more than 195 people in Lebanon, including at least 142 Hezbollah fighters, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, 15 people have been killed, of whom nine were soldiers and six civilians, according to the Israeli army.

“If Israel decides to expand its aggression, it will receive a real slap in the face in response,” Hezbollah’s number two, Naim Qassem, said in a statement.

Any restoration of stability on the border is contingent on “the end of the aggression in Gaza”, he added.

“The enemy must know the party is ready, that we are preparing based on the principle that an endless aggression can happen, just like our will to push back the aggression is infinite.”

His remarks came after Israeli air strikes “completely destroyed” at least three houses in southern Lebanon on Friday, the official Lebanese news agency NNA and the mayor of the affected border community said.

The agency reported four houses were targeted “since this morning by the Israeli air force in Kfar Kila”, a village near the Israel-Lebanon border, while three were “completely destroyed”.

A fifth home was also targeted by artillery fire, NNA said.

The Israeli army said on Friday it had “conducted air strikes and carried out artillery and tank fire against Hezbollah observation posts and terrorist infrastructure” in the Kfar Kila sector.

“There are around 100 residents left in Kfar Kila, but by chance, when the bombings took place, the destroyed homes were empty,” the mayor of the village, Hassan Chite, told AFP.

On Friday afternoon, Hezbollah claimed three attacks, including two against “deployments of soldiers of the Israeli enemy” on the border, including using Burkan missiles, which can carry a large explosive payload.

Israel “is not prepared for a war against what the Islamic resistance in Lebanon has in store for it”, Mohamed Raad, the head of the Islamist militants’ parliamentary bloc, said on Friday, according to the NNA.

On Wednesday, Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said the probability of a war between Israel and Hezbollah “in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past”.

The same day, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said a “total confrontation” between the two would be a “complete disaster”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

As fighting rages between rebel forces in Myanmar and the junta-regime, hundreds of Myanmar Army personnel are fleeing to India. Mizoram government has alerted the centre about the development and urged them to quickly ensure that the soldiers from the neighbouring nation are sent back.

Nearly 600 Myanmar Army soldiers have crossed into India amid intense clashes. They took refuge in Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district after their camps were captured by the Arakan Army (AA) militants – an ethnic armed group in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine – government sources said. The soldiers have been sheltered in an Assam Rifles camp, they said.

The situation has prompted urgent talks between Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the plenary session of the Northeastern Council meeting in Shillong.

Government sources say Mizoram emphasised the need for a swift repatriation of the Myanmar Army personnel who have taken refuge within the state. This plea comes amid growing concerns about the escalating tension and the impact it could have on the region’s stability.

Speaking to reporters after the plenary session, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma shed light on the ongoing situation.

“People are fleeing from Myanmar to our country for shelter, and we are helping them on humanitarian grounds. Soldiers of Myanmar keep coming, seeking shelter, and earlier we used to send them back by air. Around 450 army personnel were sent back,” Chief Minister Lalduhoma said.

Myanmar’s generals are facing their biggest test since they seized power in a 2021 coup after three ethnic minority forces launched a coordinated offensive in late October, capturing some towns and military posts and forcing soldiers to flee.

With just two days to go for the grand consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the magnificent abode of Lord Ram Lalla is gearing up for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony that will imbibe the idol with divine consciousness.

A video posted on X by DD News gives an exclusive look inside the splendid temple. The video shows the footsteps of the grand marble structure awash with light as its pillars and columns are decorated with bouquets of flowers. Inside the temple, workers on ladders are seen hanging multi-coloured flower garlands from the ceiling. 

#DDNews Exclusive sneak peek inside the magnificent Ram Temple!
The craftsmanship is awe-inspiring, a testament to India’s rich cultural heritage. @PMOIndia @ShriRamTeerth @UPGovt @tourismgoi @MinOfCultureGoI @tapasjournalist#Ayodhya #AyodhyaRamTemple #RamTemple… pic.twitter.com/FyaMm4FGrv

— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 20, 2024

“Exclusive sneak peek inside the magnificent Ram Temple! The craftsmanship is awe-inspiring, a testament to India’s rich cultural heritage,” the caption read.

The consecration ceremony will begin at 12.30 pm on January 22. The event will be the culmination of a week of rituals performed at the temple to ready it for the Pran Pratishtha. A team of priests led by Lakshmikant Dixit will perform the main rituals of the ceremony.

At the centre of the rituals, placed inside the sanctum sanctorum, is the 51-inch idol of Lord Ram Lalla idol, a depiction of Lord Ram at the age of five years. The idol was carved out of black stone by Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj. The complete look of the idol was unveiled on Friday which showed the deity’s face as well as a golden bow and arrow.

The grand event will be attended by Prime Minister Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Aditynath among dozens other dignitaries. Businessman Mukesh Ambani, megastar Amitabh Bachchan and former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar are also among the 8,000 guests invited for the ceremony.

Government offices, boards and corporations in several states have declared a half day or a holiday on January 22.