Olga Cherevko, a staff member with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told Al Jazeera, “The importance of the ceasefire cannot be overstated.”

“The only thing that matters right now is that it is extended and that it holds so that we can continue delivering assistance,” she said. “Over these past six weeks, we have seen just how important this ceasefire is for everyone. For us to be able to deliver is a sense for the people to get some reprieve.”

Cherevko said that since Israel began its war on Gaza, the truce was the first time she heard people express “a sense of hope and a sense of relief and that they’ve been able to grieve for the first time since the bombs stopped falling”.

“In these six weeks, we have managed to increase our assistance on a remarkable level,” she said.