UN Secretary General António Guterres voiced concern that "lawlessness" in the embattled Gaza Strip is preventing the distribution of humanitarian aid in the sealed-off coastal region.
Guterres said that inside Gaza, "lawlessness is total,” making it extremely challenging to distribute aid within the area.
He noted that looting of relief supplies and trucks was complicating the distribution process.
"There must be a mechanism guarantee that there is a minimum of law and order that allows for the distribution to take place," Guterres demanded.
He renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamist Hamas.
The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre of more than 1,200 people by Hamas and allied groups in Israel on October 7 last year.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza, at least 37,431 people have been killed and 85,653 injured in Gaza since the start of the war. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified.