Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator, told Al Jazeera that the fate of Rafah’s population is being used by Israel as a bargaining chip amid growing tension with the US over the conduct of its war on the Palestinian territory.

“I don’t think Israel is shrugging off American pressure. I think Israel is posturing,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.

“This is not yet a ground operation. Israel is hedging its involvement in the situation in Rafah. It is a horrible thing to say, but right now the Palestinians in Rafah are pawns in a game that is mostly being played between Israel and the United States. It’s not with Hamas.

“If Netanyahu can deliver on a deal, which is the only achievement he can have as an offensive on Rafah is not considered an achievement, even in Israel. If he can deliver on a deal, he will seem like the prime minister who mostly definitely had his cake and ate it too.

“We’ve seen Israel when it isn’t in a negotiating mood. We’ve seen Israel attack, decimate, destroy mercilessly. The attacks now on Rafah, as sad as it is to say, are still more of a ploy than they are an offensive plan. Israel has nothing to accomplish in Rafah.

“Rafah and its inhabitants are now pawns in a game played, as I said before, between Israel and the United States.”