The formation of the new government is stuck at the issue of the finance portfolio and the “fifth Shiite minister,” Al-Jadeed TV quoted “presidential” sources as saying on Wednesday.

Israeli forces on Wednesday abducted three citizens and wounded two others in the southern border town of Maroun al-Ras, al-Manar TV reported.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Tuesday that Israel had freed nine Lebanese prisoners of war under the terms of a more than six-week-old ceasefire and urged the release of another nine.

Israeli forces had been due to withdraw from southern Lebanon by Sunday under the terms of the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah but that deadline was extended until February 18.

Israeli strikes wounded 30 people in south Lebanon Tuesday despite a ceasefire in force for more than six weeks, the Lebanese health ministry said.

The first strike hit the southern town of Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, wounding 20 people, the ministry said.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat has called on “the political and military members of Hezbollah” to “realize that the past has ended” and that “they must turn to political action and abandon military action.”

Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that he is continuing his consultations to form a government that “meets the aspirations of the Lebanese and the urgent need for reform,” dismissing the latest media reports about the cabinet formation process.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement on Tuesday condemned Sunday’s motorbike rallies by their supporters that stirred tensions in Beirut and other areas.

MTV on Tuesday published a draft government line-up containing “some portfolios and names that have been settled until the moment.”

The past hours carried developments indicating that the new government will be announced in a few days, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

BY Kelsey Norman, Rice University and Ana Martín Gil, Rice University

(THE CONVERSATION) For more than a decade, Syrians have been the world's largest refugee population.