Saudi Arabia has suspended talks on potentially normalising ties with Israel, a source told AFP on Saturday, as the war raged between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel on October 7 which killed 1,300 people, sparking a retaliatory bombing campaign that has killed at least 2,215 in the Gaza Strip, before a potential Israeli ground invasion of the territory.

"Saudi Arabia has decided to pause discussion on possible normalisation and has informed US officials," a source familiar with the discussions told AFP.

Israel pummelled northern Gaza with fresh air strikes on Saturday, one week on from the deadliest attack in its history, as it urged Palestinians to flee the area before an expected ground offensive against Hamas commanders.

AFP reporters near the southern Israeli city of Sderot saw troops fire at the densely populated enclave, sending huge plumes of black smoke into the sky.

There was no let-up as night fell, with explosions lighting up the darkness all around.

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations called for a "humanitarian cease-fire" in the Gaza Strip and Israel on Friday, while blaming the United States for the ongoing conflict.

The Russian draft resolution, presented to the Security Council and seen by AFP, calls for an "immediate" ceasefire and the secure release of all hostages, and "strongly condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism."

Cries of "Free Palestine" rang out in New York on Friday, as thousands of protesters took to the streets to denounce Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip.

Calling for an end to "Israeli occupation" and the "liberation" of the Palestinian territories, protesters took up multiple blocks in a city that serves as a crossroads for religions and nationalities spanning the world.

The global response to the bloodshed in Israel and Gaza has revealed deep divisions, with Western countries increasingly isolated on the global stage, a trend that has gathered pace since the outbreak of the Ukraine war.

On the day of Hamas' unprecedented attacks on Israel, Western countries condemned the militant group's onslaught in the strongest terms insisting "nothing justifies terrorism".

In Kibbutz Na'an, near Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv, Yaakov Godo stood in front of the coffin of his son, Tom, who was shot dead in front of his family by Hamas fighters.

On the 72-year-old Israeli's t-shirt is a famous peace slogan in both Hebrew and Arabic: "Looking the occupation in the eye."

"I'm a human rights activist," said the retired vet who helps Palestinian patients access health care. "I'm fighting the occupation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel Friday to limit Palestinian civilian deaths as he worked to set up safe areas in the Gaza Strip, seeking to keep calm in the Arab world following a major Hamas attack.

After a solidarity visit to Tel Aviv, Blinken, on a six-nation tour of Arab countries, again defended Israel's right to respond but also hardened his tone on protecting innocent Palestinians.

"We have urged the Israelis to use every possible precaution to avoid harm to civilians," Blinken told a news conference in Qatar.

Egyptian opposition politician Ahmed al-Tantawi announced on Friday he was abandoning his bid for the presidency after weeks of alleging harassment and arrests by the authorities.

Despite mobilising relatively wide support since announcing his intention to run against incumbent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Tantawi was able to collect only 14,000 of the 25,000 endorsements needed to register his candidacy, his campaign coordinator said.

Each candidate must submit the endorsements of either 20 lawmakers or 25,000 citizens by October 15 in order to be eligible.

Thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of Gaza City on Friday in a panic to head southwards after Israel warned them to evacuate. But for many others, there is simply nowhere to go.

The rush to leave came after the Israeli military urged around 1.1 million Gazans living in the north of the Palestinian territory to flee "for their own safety and protection", ahead of an expected ground incursion.

The Hamas attack on key US ally Israel has caused emotions to run high in a place better known for the steely exercise of power -- the White House.

President Joe Biden has given several strongly worded speeches pledging support for Israel since Saturday's assault by the Palestinian militant group, and at one point pounded on a lectern to make his point.

Emotion got the better of a senior White House official who choked up on live television as he discussed the attacks. Biden's national security advisor admitted the crisis was "personal for us."