On Friday, Israeli forces pounded targets across Gaza and issued new orders for people to leave areas it had previously designated as civilian safe zones, saying Hamas had used them to fire mortars and rockets at Israel.

As hundreds of families fled with salvaged belongings, the United Nations called for a week-long pause in fighting to allow for a polio vaccination campaign, with disease spreading among the displaced.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement it has detected the first confirmed case of polio in 25 years in the Gaza Strip.

Before the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict began in October 2023, the enclave had been polio-free for 25 years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Earlier on Friday, the UN said it is set to launch a two-phase campaign to vaccinate more than 640,000 children in Gaza under the age of 10, starting at the end of August.

The WHO has already approved the release of 1.6 million doses of the polio vaccine, and the UN Children's Fund is coordinating delivery efforts and the cold chain equipment needed for storage, the UN said.

"But the challenges are grave," with health, water, and sanitation systems in Gaza decimated, most hospitals and primary care facilities not functional, and people constantly forced to run for safety, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday while appealing for a "polio pause" in the enclave.

The UN chief appealed to all parties to provide concrete assurances right away guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for the campaign. "The ultimate vaccine for polio is peace and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire," said Guterres, adding, "But in any case, a polio pause is a must."

At present, the Israeli army's fighting in the Gaza Strip has ended, according to Israel's state-owned Kan TV news, which also said Israel can return and re-enter Gaza "when there is new intelligence," citing senior security officials.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)