Israeli air and artillery strikes intensified across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing scores of civilians and knocking a key water desalination plant out of service, according to hospital officials and municipal authorities. A raid on the plant in Gaza City’s Al-Rimal neighbourhood killed at least three people and wounded 15, forcing the facility offline. Gaza’s municipal spokesman warned that thousands of families in the city’s east have been without running water for a week and said repairs cannot begin while Israeli forces bar maintenance crews from the area. The same morning, gunfire near an aid-distribution centre on the coastal road between Rafah and Khan Younis left eight people dead and more than 40 injured, emergency workers said. Separate strikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp killed eight, including five children, and drone, tank and air attacks were reported in Al-Zaytoun, Jabalia, Batn Al-Samin and other districts. Medical sources put the toll for the previous 24 hours at 70 dead and 332 wounded. Saturday’s escalation followed a series of deadly incidents earlier in the week. On 1 July an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Baqa café, a popular seaside venue in Gaza City, killed at least 30 people, among them a photojournalist and an artist. The IDF said it had targeted Hamas operatives and was reviewing the incident. The latest violence comes amid a grinding conflict that began after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in the subsequent Israeli campaign, a figure that includes combatants and civilians. International mediators have yet to revive stalled talks on a cease-fire and hostage exchange.