Former State Dept spokesman Matthew Miller told Channel 13 that Blinken, early in the war, warned Israel’s war cabinet that without a “day after” plan, they would be stuck in an insurgency in Gaza, instability in the West Bank, and blocked from normalization with Arab states.

According to Miller, Netanyahu responded:

“You’re right. We are going to be fighting this war for decades to come. That’s the way it’s been. That’s the way it’s going to be.”