Rosalia Bollen, from the United Nation’s children’s agency, says it’s “heartbreaking” to see the truce delayed.

“I saw children waving and cheering and dancing. But at the same time I could hear continued shooting, very heavy weapons,” Bollen told Al Jazeera, speaking from Gaza’s al-Mawasi area.

“The ceasefire isn’t there yet and that’s absolutely heartbreaking for these children.”

Over the past couple of days, children in the Strip have been telling Bollen all the things “they would love to do the moment a ceasefire starts”.

“They want to go back home, see what’s left… They want to sleep in their own bed. They want to find the toys they’ve had to leave behind when the war started and so it’s a very odd moment to be in,” she said.

Bollen said there are 1,300 truckloads of supplies ready to be brought in once the ceasefire takes effect. But impediments remain such as destroyed roads and warehouses.

Food, water, warm shelter and hygiene supplies are most essential, Bollen said.

“But some of the aid that children in Gaza need is not aid that we can bring onto trucks. They’ve gone through things that no child should ever have to witness, and they are in dire need of psychosocial support and a return to normalcy.”