The head of the UN warned on Wednesday that he expects "public order to completely break down soon due to the desperate conditions" in Gaza, currently under relentless Israeli bombardment.
The humanitarian conditions amid the Israel-Hamas war are "fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to the president of the Security Council.
"Such an outcome must be avoided at all costs," he said in the letter.
Guterres wrote the letter invoking Article 99 of the UN's charter, which states that "the Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."
It is the first time the UN chief has invoked the article since taking office in 2017. The rotating presidency of the Security Council is currently held by Ecuador.
Urging the members of the Security Council to "press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe," Guterres reiterated his appeal for "a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared."
"The health care system in Gaza is collapsing," he said, adding that "there is no effective protection of civilians."
"The current conditions are making it impossible for meaningful humanitarian operations to be conducted," the letter said, adding that "nowhere is safe in Gaza."
Fighting between Israel and Hamas, which governs the besieged coastal territory of the Gaza Strip, kicked off when Hamas fighters launched a deadly cross-border raid on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
Guterres denounced the attacks on Wednesday as "abhorrent acts of terror."
In response, Israel has launched a brutal ground and air assault in Gaza, killing more than 16,200 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas government.
The situation threatens "peace and security in the region," Guterres said.
"With a humanitarian ceasefire, the means of survival can be restored, and humanitarian assistance can be delivered in a safe and timely manner across the Gaza Strip."
In mid-November, after four rejected draft texts, the Security Council called for "extended humanitarian pauses" in the Gaza Strip, in what was the first time it broke its silence on the bloody conflict.
According to diplomatic sources, Security Council members are working on a new draft resolution focused on humanitarian aid.