The International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday called on Israel and Hamas to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza to prevent the conflict-weary region from sliding back into despair.

“The ceasefire has saved countless lives and provided a beacon of hope amid unimaginable suffering. Any unraveling of the forward momentum built over the past six weeks risks pushing people back into despair,” the committee said in a statement, adding that the truce was “essential.”

Every effort must be made to maintain the ceasefire so that lives can be saved from the hostilities, humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, and more families can be reunited.

The statement came as Israel said it had suspended the entry of supplies into Gaza, and as reports of deadly attacks emerged in the area after Israel and Hamas reached an impasse over how to move forward.

In turn, Hamas called on Monday on the mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the prisoner exchange to "protect it from collapse" as they are responsible for preventing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from "sabotaging all efforts to reach an agreement."

This came in a videotaped speech by the movement’s leader Osama Hamdan, during which he reviewed Israel’s violations of the ceasefire agreement under 6 clauses: “violations related to relief, shelter, and the humanitarian protocol, field violations, violations related to prisoners, the Rafah crossing, the Philadelphi corridor, and political violations.” Hamdan, in his talk about the political violations, called on the international community to force Netanyahu to begin the second phase.

He said: "We call on the international community and the United Nations to work to compel the occupation to return to the agreement and enter the second phase of it, leading to a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of all forces, relief and shelter for our people, and the reconstruction of what the occupation has destroyed."

He also called for "implementing UN Security Council Resolution No. 2735 and working to achieve a just solution to our Palestinian cause that guarantees the right to self-determination and the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of refugees to their cities and villages from which they were displaced."