Axios

Israel and Hamas for the first time in months are negotiating details of a possible deal to release Israeli hostages and for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, according to two Israeli officials and a source with direct knowledge.

Why it matters: Both Israel and Hamas are under intense pressure to reach an agreement that would release the hostages and begin a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.

The first charter flight carrying dozens of U.S. citizens escaping violence in Haiti arrived in Miami on Sunday.

The big picture: The travelers arrived from Cap-Haïtien one day after the U.S. State Department announced plans for the flight from the port city following an emergency declaration by Ariel Henry, who has resigned as prime minister, due to gang violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send a senior delegation to Washington in the next few days to discuss an alternative strategy to an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in briefing with reporters on Monday.

Why it matters: This is a signal that both Biden and Netanyahu are trying to avoid a public clash over an Israeli invasion of Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.

Some 300,000 people in northern Gaza are expected to face famine conditions as early as this month, a UN-backed body warned in a report released Monday.

The big picture: Negotiations toward a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continue as the Gaza Strip faces a humanitarian crisis. The ongoing war has made it difficult to deliver aid into Gaza.

President Biden held his first phone call in a month with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Why it matters: Since their last call on Feb. 15, private tensions between the two leaders over the war in Gaza have started to spill into public.

An international draft treaty aimed at bolstering readiness for the next pandemic enters a final round of scheduled negotiations Monday, with key disagreements remaining about how much knowledge and product drugmakers must share with the world.

Why it matters: COVID-19 laid bare global health inequities — and exacerbated them, as low- and middle-income countries received vaccines far later than other countries despite global sharing efforts hatched during the crisis.

Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin late on Sunday unsurprisingly claimed victory in what Russia said was an election for its presidency, solidifying his rule throughout the remainder of this decade and into the 2030s.

Why it matters: What millions of people voted in over the past few days — in some cases against their will — and what 71-year-old Putin won wasn't an election in any traditional sense of the word.

Cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., tied for their second-earliest peak bloom record on Sunday following some warm final days of winter that have seen temperatures reach the 70s, per the National Park Service.

Why it matters: Research shows cherry trees are blossoming earlier in D.C. and Japan due to climate change, and new data indicates that spring is getting warmer on average in the District of Columbia and nationwide.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said he had agreed to a prisoner swap involving his staunch critic Alexei Navalny before the opposition leader's death in prison last month.

Why it matters: Putin's comments during a news conference after claiming a landslide win in the country's presidential election on Sunday, as expected, mark the first time he has commented on the dissident leader's death in a Russian penal colony last month.

Sunday marked the final day of the Russian election and saw widespread protests against President Vladimir Putin at polling sites in the country and at Russian embassies worldwide.

The big picture: Known as "Noon Against Putin," the late Alexei Navalny supported an initiative that urged voters to go to the polls and either spoil their ballot or vote for a non-Putin candidate at noon on Sunday, both inside and outside of Russia.

White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said Sunday that it's up to the Israeli people and their government to decide to hold new elections, days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged such a move occur.

The big picture: Schumer levied some of the harshest criticism yet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a senior U.S. official, as discontent grows among President Biden and members of his administration about the prime minister's policies.