GAZA/CAIRO -- Hamas said Wednesday that contacts are underway with mediators to finalize the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

"Contacts are underway with mediating countries to complete the implementation of the ceasefire agreement," Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a press release. (Egypt-Hamas-Ceasefire Talks)

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JERUSALEM -- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that if Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Saturday, "the gates of hell will open upon them."

Katz made the remarks during a security consultation at the military's Operations Directorate command center in Tel Aviv, according to a statement from his office. He said the meeting was convened to "ensure that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is properly prepared for the resumption of the war in Gaza." (Israel-Gaza War-Renewal)

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BEIRUT -- The media offices of the Lebanese presidency and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday dismissed media reports claiming that Lebanon and Israel had agreed to extend the ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, which falls at the end of March this year.

In an official statement, the presidential media office refuted the report, emphasizing that Lebanon had received no such information. "This news is false," the statement read, reaffirming President Joseph Aoun's stance on Israel's full withdrawal from Lebanese territory by the agreed deadline of Feb. 18. (Lebanon-Deny-Ceasefire Extension)

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DAMASCUS -- Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani said Wednesday that a new Syrian government will be formed in March, according to the state news agency SANA.

The new government will represent "all segments of the Syrian population," Al-Shaibani told Kuwaiti journalist Ammar Taqi from Al-Qabas newspaper on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai, SANA reported. (Syria-New Gov't-Formation) Enditem

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