Will the US suspend arms supplies? The Israeli authorities received the letter

Despite recent Israeli attacks on a designated safe zone in Gaza, the World Health Organization has launched the next phase of polio vaccinations. On October 14 alone, 97,000 children were vaccinated. But not all of them saw the visit of volunteers.

– Yesterday, a group of volunteers came to our house to vaccinate our children with the second dose. I just told them that all our children were dead. My brother's, my sister's and my children. My sister and her husband were also killed, says Osama Al-Wasifi, a resident of the Gaza Strip.

Despite vaccinations, the situation of children in Gaza is getting worse. The fact that Israel is now fighting more intensively on the second front against Hezbollah does not mean that operations in the Gaza Strip have stopped. Dozens of civilians continue to die in attacks.

– There have been no food deliveries in the north of the zone since the beginning of October. There are no access roads, there is no way to get to Gaza safely. Today, the situation of children is the worst since the beginning of the war. And if nothing changes, if the occupation forces do not stop their attacks, tomorrow – although it is hard to believe – the situation of children will be even worse – warns James Elder, spokesman for UNICEF.

READ ALSO: Blinken and Austin write to Israeli authorities

Since spring, the amount of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip has dropped by 50 percent. This is among other issues raised by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in their unprecedented letter to the Israeli government. They demand that Israel take specific and long-term actions to improve the humanitarian situation, under the threat of ceasing deliveries of offensive weapons to Israel.

– So far, the only American ban that has been implemented and managed to stay in place concerns a single shipment of Mark 84 bombs. But in theory, that is what this warning is about. If Israel does not take steps to improve the humanitarian situation, it could affect American support, reports Oren Liebermann, a journalist with CNN.

The letter was leaked to the media, although it was supposed to be private. However, the announced supply interruptions do not apply to defensive systems. Israel definitely needs these to defend itself against further attacks by Hezbollah and in the event of a conflict with Iran. Hezbollah leader calls on Prime Minister Netanyahu for a ceasefire and threatens.

– I appeal to the command of the Israeli forces. The solution is a truce. We are not speaking to you from the position of the underdog. If you do not want a ceasefire, we will continue our actions, says Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah.

The United States condemned the scale of Israeli actions in Lebanon on Tuesday, but it did not stop the morning attack on the outskirts of Beirut. Five people were killed in the attack on An-Nabatiya, including the city's mayor. More than a million Lebanese have been displaced since the fighting intensified.

– They don't think. This is discrimination. Israel attacks civilian facilities, they attack places where displaced people are located. If they think this will weaken public support for Hezbollah, they are wrong. It will be exactly the opposite. Look at us. We sit here, eat and drink, it seems to be normal, but this is not life. We don't live like humans, says Mostafa Saleh, a displaced Lebanese.

The issue of Israel's fight against Hezbollah was the main topic of the summit between the European Union and the Persian Gulf countries.