US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that there is no indication that Israel has reduced the intensity of its attack on the Gaza Strip, despite Israeli statements that it is shifting to a less intense phase.

The minister said at an event at the Brookings Institution in Washington: “We have heard the Israelis talking about a significant decline in their operations in Gaza, and it remains to be seen.”

For weeks, Israeli officials have indicated that they are easing their attack on the Gaza Strip, even as its army continues to bomb the Strip, killing a huge number of civilians. On Saturday, at least 40 Palestinians were killed and 224 others injured in just 24 hours.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll in Gaza has risen to at least 37,843 people, in addition to 86,858 wounded, most of them women and children.

Last month, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy said that Israel is ready to achieve its military goals in the border city of Rafah in southern Gaza, and is preparing to reduce the intensity of fighting.

“It is clear that we are approaching the point where we can say that we have dismantled the Rafah Brigade,” Halevy said.

According to experts, Blinken's assessment that there has been no let-up in the Israeli attack is likely to be carefully watched by Iran and its ally Hezbollah, which is locked in an escalating cross-border conflict with Israel.

US envoy Amos Hochstein had informed Hezbollah through intermediaries that Israel expects approximately five more weeks of intense fighting in Gaza, after which it will halt its main offensive through the Strip.

The United States said the "calm" in the fighting in Gaza would provide an opportunity for Hezbollah and Israel to reach a truce of their own, regardless of whether Hamas and Israel agree to a ceasefire or not, a hypothesis rejected by the Lebanese group.

Blinken said, "Israel does not want war, although it may be ready to enter it if necessary from its point of view to protect its interests, but it does not want it. I do not think Hezbollah really wants war, and I do not think Iran wants war."

Blinken added: “So, on the one hand, no one really wants war. On the other hand, there is strong momentum that could lead in this direction.”

Blinken also noted that the United States has made progress in discussions with regional countries on the post-war plan in Gaza. He said that the United States had reached the stage of exchanging “concrete ideas and concrete proposals” with regional allies for post-war Gaza, so that they would not be “bypassed” in the event of a ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli political leadership continued to rule out the next day's plan for the Gaza Strip, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the return of the Palestinian Authority or talks about a two-state solution.

But as plans for the next day faltered, Hamas reconstituted itself in areas of Gaza where Israel previously thought it had eliminated the group.

Last Thursday, the Israeli army confirmed that it had launched a new operation in the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza, which is still raging. The Palestinians reported violent shelling, tank advances, and a mass exodus.

The ceasefire proposal unveiled by Biden on May 31 appears to have stalled, with each side of the conflict offering a different view on what the proposal means.

While the United States insists on ensuring a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza, Israel says the agreement will allow it to ensure the destruction of Hamas' military and governance capabilities.

Blinken continued to insist that the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is solely responsible for rejecting Biden’s proposal.

“One way or another, when this conflict ends, it cannot and must not end in a vacuum in Gaza,” Blinken said.