US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, stressed on Wednesday that Israel needs to develop a “post-war” plan in Gaza “as soon as possible” after the head of the Israeli National Security Council said that the fighting against Hamas may continue until the end of the year.

Blinken told reporters during a visit to Moldova, saying, “In the absence of a plan for the next day, there will be no next day. This is the direction we must take, and what we need to achieve, as quickly as possible.”

Blinken said he could not verify whether Israel used weapons provided by Washington in its latest deadly attacks in Rafah. He added that the type of weapons used and how they were used would have to be the purpose of an investigation into the attack.

Regarding the massacre committed by the occupation, on Sunday evening, in Rafah by targeting a displaced persons camp, which resulted in the death of 45 people, most of whom were women and children, he said that it was “a horrific and shocking incident in Rafah, and we were clear with Israel about conducting an investigation and accountability.”

He added, "Operations targeting terrorists in Gaza may cause civilian casualties," considering that "Israel has achieved successes against Hamas, but they will not be fruitful in the absence of a plan for the day after the war."

He stressed, "The urgent matter is to develop a clear and successful plan that can defeat Hamas. We and other parties stress the necessity of defeating Hamas."

In turn, the US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, said that Israel must do more to protect civilians in Gaza and that "more must be done to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the Strip and that it can be distributed safely."

Wood added before the United Nations Security Council that "the continuing pattern of significant harm to civilians resulting from incidents such as the air strikes on Sunday undermines Israel's strategic objectives in Gaza."