Welcome to the news hour. Delegations from Israel and Hamas returned to Cairo today

to resume fraught negotiations over a potential ceasefire and hostage deal.

In the meantime, Israeli tanks and troops seized the Rafa border crossing with Egypt, delaying

aid shipments as 1.2 million Palestinians shelter in the city.

Following it all is our Nick Schffron reporting tonight from Jacksonville,

North Carolina. So Nick let's begin in Rafa. Tell us what kind of operation

Israel has launched there and why. Well, as you just said, Israel sees the border crossing that separates Gaza from Egypt.

Israel called it a, quote, precise operation to tackle some of the smuggling that goes from Egypt

into Gaza as well as the Hamas militants who operate there.

This is actually the first time that Israeli troops have controlled that border crossing since 2005

when Israel withdrew settlers and soldiers from Gaza back then and in this

war Israel has long argued that it needs to enter nearby Rafa City and today

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that operation was next.

Seizing the passage in Raffa today is a very important step, an important step on the way to

destroying the remaining military capabilities of Hamas, including the elimination of the

four terrorist battalions in Raffa, and an important

step to damage the governmental capabilities of Hamas.

Because as of this morning, we denied Hamas a passage that was essential for establishing

its reign of terror in the strip.

But Raffa is also the main crossing of humanitarian aid from Egypt into Gaza and today

hundreds of trucks are backed up at the border because

the crossing is shut as is the nearby crossing of Karam Shalom which Israel promised to

...