Family of 11 dead, as Israel shells their bus

11 people, all from the same family, have been killed in Gaza by an Israeli tank shell in North Gaza, as reports the Gaza's Hamas-run civil defence.

The Abu Shaaban family, it said, had been on their way to inspect their home when they were hit in the Zeitoun neighborhood. The Israeli military states that they fired at a "suspicious vehicle"which was crossing the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Under the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli soldiers continue to operate in more than half of the Gaza Strip.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP news agency the victims were killed while "trying to check on their home" in the area.

The dead included women and children, according to the civil defence.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said a "suspicious vehicle was identified crossing the yellow line and approaching IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip" on Friday, prompting it to fire "warning shots" towards the vehicle.

It said the vehicle "continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them" and "troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement."

Hamas said the family had been targeted without justification.

With limited internet access in the region and the yellow demarcation line not physically marked, many Palestinians do not actually know the position of Israeli soldiers.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday the army would set up visual signs to indicate the location of the line.

This is the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire eight days ago.