Parties to the war in Yemen for the most part adhered to a 72-hour truce that began just before midnight on Wednesday and the capital Sanaa passed its first night in three months without air strikes, residents and officials said.

The truce was effectively holding across Yemen, despite small breaches in the provinces of Taiz, Hajja and Mareb, local officials and residents across the country told Reuters.

"It was a quiet night. We slept without explosions," said Bassam, a worker at a grocery store in Sanaa. "We hope this war
ends soon, because people are tired. We want to live, not to die."

The United Nations announced the ceasefire between the warring factions earlier in the week. It has the possibility for
extension if it holds.

A Saudi-led coalition had conducted airstrikes in Sanaa every night since Aug. 7, residents say, beginning after peace talks with the Iran-allied Houthi movement and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh broke down.

Several previous ceasefires have failed to pave the way for an end to the conflict, although they have significantly slowed fighting in the war, which has killed at least 10,000 people.

Aid agencies hope to use the truce to reach parts of the country that have been cut off by months of fighting and are in dire humanitarian need.