FIVE Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a bakery in the al-Sumoud displacement camp in al-Mawasi, the Wafa new agency reported today.

Wafa also reported that the bodies of two brothers from the Qishta family were recovered from the Khirbet al-Adas area east of Rafah city, south of the Gaza Strip.

The two brothers died after they were targeted while they were on an agricultural tractor on al-Shuhada Street in the Musbah area, north of the city.

The situation in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate as arguments within Israel’s far-right government continue to grow over its war strategy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu is reportedly considering sacking his defence minister.

Israeli media are reporting that Mr Netanyahu is preparing to give in to far-right colleagues in his coalition to sack Yoav Gallant and replace him with National Unity party chairman Gideon Sa’ar.

An unnamed source from the prime minister’s office said that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant were at odds over a possible offensive in Lebanon.

Mr Gallant is reportedly opposed to a major invasion of Lebanon with Mr Netanyahu and others in his far right coalition wanting to launch a full offensive against Hezbollah after months of rocket exchanges.

Mr Sa’ar has previously rejected speculation that he is accepting a deal to bring him back into the coalition.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote in a post on the X social media site that he has been calling for Mr Gallant’s dismissal for months and the time has come to do it “immediately.”

This comes after an announcement by the Israeli military on Sunday that there was a “high probability” that the three hostages found dead in November were killed in an Israeli air strike.

The Israelis said an investigation has found that Corporal Nik Beizer, Sergeant Ron Sherman and Elia Toledano probably died during an air attack that killed a senior Hamas official, Ahmed Ghandour.

The army said that its analysis was based on where the bodies were recovered, pathological reports and other intelligence. But it said: “It is not possible to definitely determine the circumstances of their deaths.”

The conclusion is likely to add to mounting pressure on the government to strike a deal to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas. 

The army’s announcement is the first time it has linked the deaths of hostages to air strikes. In other cases of bodies being recovered, the army has said that people were either killed on October 7, died in Hamas captivity or were killed by Hamas.