Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani warned Monday that postponing implementation of an agreement between Syria's new administration and Kurdish-led forces in the northeast would "prolong the chaos" in the country.

A source close to Hamas told AFP the handover of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since October 2023, would "most likely" take place after 1400 GMT on Monday.

Hamas' armed wing said it would release on Monday a U.S.-Israeli hostage held in Gaza since October 2023, even as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of an "intensification" of fighting in the war-ravaged territory.

Israel's military issued a warning Sunday for Yemenis to leave three ports in areas controlled by the Houthi rebels, following Israeli strikes in recent days in retaliation for missile fire.

Hamas and U.S. representatives have held direct talks in Doha in recent days, two officials from the Palestinian militant group told AFP on Sunday, with one saying there had been "progress" towards a truce in Gaza.

The Israeli army said Sunday that the body of a soldier missing for 43 years had been found in the "heart of Syria" and repatriated in a special operation with the Mossad intelligence agency.

"In a special operation led by the IDF (military) and Mossad, the body of Sgt. First Class Tzvika Feldman was found in the heart of Syria and brought back to Israel," the army said in a statement.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa on Saturday welcomed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Bahraini state media said, the interim leader's latest engagement with regional leaders since taking power in December.

Lebanon and Syria are cracking down on Palestinian factions that for decades have had an armed presence in both countries and which on some occasions were used to plan and launch attacks against Israel.

The crackdown comes as Syria's new rulers under Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are pursuing officials of the former government under Bashar Assad, including those in the ousted president's web of security agencies. Syria's most prominent Palestinian factions were key allies of the Assad dynasty in both war and peace time and closely cooperated on security matters.

Israel's defense minister vowed a forceful response after a missile fired from Yemen was intercepted on Friday, in an attack claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

A Palestinian student arrested as he was about to finalize his U.S. citizenship has accused Columbia University of eroding democracy with its handling of campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war.

Mohsen Mahdawi, 34, who led anti-war protests at the Ivy League school in New York in 2023 and 2024, spent 16 days in a Vermont prison before a judge ordered him released on April 30. He spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday, a day after pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with campus security guards inside the university's main library. At least 80 people were taken into custody, police said.