CIA director Bill Burns and President Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk are meeting with senior Israeli and Egyptian security officials in Cairo Monday to discuss the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal and arrangements to secure the Egypt-Gaza border, four Israeli and U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: The Egypt-Gaza border security arrangements and the reopening of the Rafah crossing are key issues to solve ahead of a possible hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

For the first time in more than two decades, giant pandas are en route from China to a San Diego zoo in the U.S. — a sign that Beijing is resuming its so-called “panda diplomacy” efforts as relations with the West thaw.

Four-year-old Yun Chuan, a male panda, and Xin Bao, a female panda who’s turning four in July, departed from Bifengxia Giant Panda Base, in China’s Sichuan province on Wednesday.

The pair will reside at the San Diego Zoo for the next 10 years, according to a press release from the zoo.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reiterated his “commitment” to the ceasefire proposal as the world awaits Hamas’s response.

The secretary is in the Middle East, where he has met and will continue to meet with regional leaders, including those from Qatar and Egypt, which are acting as mediators, along with the United States, between Israel and Hamas.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $404 million in aid to Gaza as he spoke in Jordan on Tuesday, where he urged Hamas to accept the current cease-fire proposal “without delay” during talks with Middle Eastern leaders.

Blinken, who is touring the Middle East to push for a deal and an exchange of hostages in the Gaza Strip after months of violence and high death tolls, received a boost from a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution backing the plan Monday. Hamas welcomed the resolution.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed cautious support for an initiative by President Biden to end the war in Gaza, with the Israeli leader saying on Monday that he is open to a temporary cease-fire to release hostages but wants a free hand to resume fighting Hamas.

Netanyahu’s position raises questions about whether an agreement can be reached. Hamas has said the two sides must agree to end the fighting now and is pushing for written guarantees that Israel won’t restart after an initial pause.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea announced Monday it’ll suspend a rapprochement deal with North Korea to punish it over its launches of trash-carrying balloons, even after the North said it would halt its balloon campaign.

For the past six months, the giant panda habitat at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) has sat empty, a sign outside of its entrance informing visitors that the beloved black-and-white bears who once occupied the enclosure are now living in China.

By the end of 2024, however, the species is set to make its triumphant return to Washington, D.C., bringing a yearlong panda drought in the nation’s capital to a close.

D.C. is officially getting giant pandas back at the National Zoo.

Why it matters: In a city where panda merch and "bearthday" parties were rampant, being giant panda-less since November has not been easy for Washingtonians. Now that they're coming back, expect plenty of happy panda-monium.

The big picture: Since China first sent giant pandas to the National Zoo following the normalizing of ties with the U.S. in 1972, the iconic bears have been a sign of friendship between the two nations.

The Smithsonian National Zoo announced Wednesday that giant pandas would return to Washington, D.C.

After nearly six months without pandas in the zoo, China will send two panda bears to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington. In a comical video featuring first lady Jill Biden, the Smithsonian announced the pandas’ return.

Egyptian intelligence quietly changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month, ultimately scuttling a deal that could have released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and set a pathway to temporarily end the fighting in Gaza, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

The ceasefire agreement that Hamas ended up announcing on May 6 was not what the Qataris or the Americans believed had been submitted to Hamas for a potential final review, the sources said.