Two million people in the contested Syrian city of Aleppo lack access to running water because of escalated fighting, the United Nations said Tuesday, beseeching combatants to declare a humanitarian pause to permit emergency deliveries of aid and to fix damaged pumps.

“The U.N. is extremely concerned that the consequences will be dire for millions of civilians if the electricity and water networks are not immediately repaired,” the organization said in a statement.

“The U.N. stands ready to assist the civilian population of Aleppo, a city now united in its suffering,” the statement said. “At a minimum, the U.N. requires a full-fledged cease-fire or weekly 48-hour humanitarian pauses to reach the millions of people in need throughout Aleppo and replenish the food and medicine stocks, which are running dangerously low.”

The statement also denounced the military targeting of hospitals and clinics, which it said “continues unabated, seriously jeopardizing the health and welfare of all citizens of Aleppo.”