Israel Defense Forces called for "all residents of Gaza City to evacuate their homes" and "move south for their protection" early Friday morning local time in a series of posts on X.

The IDF told residents to move "and settle in the area south of the Gaza River."

The announcement was made, according to the IDF, because it plans to "operate significantly in Gaza City in the coming days" and wanted "to avoid harming civilians."

The IDF said in its posts that it believes Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City, including in buildings with "innocent civilians” inside.

"[D]istance yourself from the Hamas terrorists who use you as a human shield," the post read.

The message was released a short time after the UN made a similar announcement, also citing Israel's military.

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

United Nations team leaders in Gaza were informed by their liaison officers in the Israeli military that "the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours," a U.N. spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.

"This amounts to approximately 1.1 million people," the spokesperson added.

"The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences," the spokesperson said.

-ABC News' Samy Zyara and Ellie Kaufman

Israelis in Tel Aviv held a candlelight vigil on Thursday for the victims of the Oct. 7 surprise terrorist attack by Hamas.

Ran Oren, who donated candles for the vigil, which was held around a fountain in central Tel Aviv, told Reuters that each candle donated represented each victim of the attack. He said the vigil was held in order to "light this dark moment."

Dozens of onlookers could be seen gathered around the makeshift vigil, some of them lighting candles along the fountain.

The vigil was first reported by Reuters.

Hospitals and the health system in the Gaza Strip are at a "breaking point," the UN World Health Organization said in a release Thursday.

"Hospitals have only a few hours of electricity each day as they are forced to ration depleting fuel reserves and rely on generators to sustain the most critical functions," the WHO said in the release. "Even these functions will have to cease in a few days, when fuel stocks are due to run out."

WHO said it documented 34 attacks on health care in Gaza since Saturday, Oct. 7. These attacks have resulted in "the death of 11 health workers on duty, 16 injuries and damages to 19 health facilities and 20 ambulances," the release said.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

In his first on-camera comments about Israel’s evacuation request for northern Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant urged Gaza residents to head south. He noted that Hamas will use them as "camouflage," “therefore we need to separate them."

"Those who want to save their life, please go south. We are going to destroy Hamas infrastructures, Hamas headquarters, Hamas military," he said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who appeared at the press conference with Gallant, dodged ABC News' question about how Israel could end the Hamas terror threat without inevitably risking civilian lives. Austin called Israel's military "professional" and "disciplined."

Austin described how ISIS had also embedded themselves in civilian populations and how the anti-ISIS coalition "protected civilians and created corridors for humanitarian movement even in the midst of a pretty significant fight. So again, this is a professional force. It is well led, and I have every expectation that it will be disciplined."

Austin added, "I would tell you that in countering ISIS, I felt as if we were staring evil in the eye, it was truly evil. And what we've seen from Hamas, it takes that evil to another level."

-ABC News' Matt Seyler and Luis Martinez