Israel has taken control of the vital Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after launching air strikes. Israel carried out the next stage of its offensive while the prospects for a ceasefire deal hung in the balance. The Palestinian militant group Hamas said late on Monday it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal from mediators seven months into the war that has pushed more than a million Gazans into the south of the enclave. Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and launched a military operation in Rafah. Israeli tanks and planes pounded several areas and houses in Rafah overnig…