Israeli strikes kill seven in Gaza, health officials say

CAIRO - Two Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza on Saturday, killing at least seven people and injuring several others, officials from Gaza's health ministry said.

An airstrike hit a police checkpoint in Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip early on Saturday, killing at least six, while a second airstrike hit Beit Lahiya, killing at least one, said the officials.

It was not immediately clear how many of those killed in the first strike were police members.

The Israeli military said that the strike in Bureij had been carried out after members of the militant group Hamas approached the yellow line demarcating the half of Gaza occupied by Israel. It did not immediately comment on the strike in Beit Lahiya.

Israel has repeatedly shot at people in areas around the yellow line since the ceasefire deal was struck in October, often accusing militants of trying to cross the line or attack troops.

A series of Israeli strikes has killed dozens of Hamas-led police force members since October, according to medics and police sources. Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 25 people in Gaza this week.

Israel and Hamas reached a U.S.-brokered deal last October that was meant to halt violence in the Palestinian territory.

Since then, Israeli attacks have killed at least 700 people in Gaza, according to health officials there. Militant attacks have killed four soldiers there, according to Israel.

Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Hatem Maher, and Pesha Magid; Editing by Sam Holmes/Reuters