Israeli forces enter eastern Rafah as hostage-ceasefire deal hangs in the balance

Israeli tanks and other ground forces entered the eastern outskirts of Rafah on Monday night as part of the first phase of Israel's military operation in the southern Gaza city, Israeli officials said.

Why it matters: Israel decided to move ahead with the ground operation as efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators and CIA director Bill Burns to salvage a hostage and ceasefire deal that the parties have been negotiating for months.

The Biden administration and many other countries in the world are concerned an Israeli operation in Rafah will...