Xinhua Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT, Feb. 17

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GAZA -- The Hamas-run health ministry in the besieged Gaza Strip announced on Wednesday that it has received the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

"Today, we received the first batch of the coronavirus vaccines for the first time since the outbreak of the disease in the Gaza Strip," said Muneer al-Borsh, director of the Hamas-run health ministry's pharmaceutical department.

He said the shipment contains 2,000 doses of vaccines and will be enough for the vaccination of 1,000 people. (Palestine-Gaza Strip-Coronavirus Vaccines)

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ANKARA -- Turkey will gradually lift restrictions against COVID-19 on the provincial levels from March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

"We will start the normalization process as the beginning of March by dividing our provinces into four groups," Erdogan said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting.

The government will lift the restrictions gradually according to the number of cases, vaccination and other relevant criteria in the provinces, he added. (Turkey-COVID19-Restrictions)

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TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday that Iran is ready for dialogue with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi but will not renegotiate the 2015 nuclear agreement.

"On Feb. 23, the IAEA's oversight (of Iran's nuclear program) will be reduced, not stopped," Zarif told journalists after a cabinet meeting in the capital Tehran, official news agency IRNA reported. (Iran-Nuke Deal)

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BEIRUT -- A snow storm engulfed Lebanon on Wednesday along with heavy winds and torrential rainfalls, the National News Agency reported.

Temperatures on the coast reached 7 degrees Celsius compared to previous years when the average temperature did not drop below 11 degrees. (Lebanon-Snow) Enditem

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