The controversial plan, which would result in Israel retaining security control throughout Gaza, comes amid a deepening breakdown in public order in the devastated territory as convoys of aid are repeatedly looted and communities form self-defence groups, some armed, to protect against thieves or to help find food.
This week, the World Food Programme halted deliveries to northern Gaza because of increasing chaos and renewed fighting. The agency has warned of catastrophic famine.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said that in northern Gaza one in six children under two years old are acutely malnourished.
The heads of 13 UN agencies and five other aid groups issued a joint plea for a ceasefire on Wednesday, warning that a looming Israeli offensive on Rafah could "deal a death blow" to an operation bringing humanitarian aid to Palestinians that "is already on its knees".
"Diseases are rampant. Famine is looming," the plea said, adding that aid workers were facing "shelling, death, movement restrictions and a breakdown of civil order".
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