Palestinians converge for a free meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Dec 21, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

RAMALLAH/GAZA - Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye said on Wednesday that Gaza, which has been under an intense Israeli military assault for nearly three months, is witnessing an "unprecedented state of hunger and starvation."

Ishtaye told a weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah that the situation in Gaza is "shocking to us and the world" as infants have no milk while "children are searching for a living in long lines" and not getting their share.

Ishtaye accused Israel of deliberately blocking food supplies to Gaza and preventing people's access to food, saying it has targeted their daily calorie intake with "the cannon of crime."

He warned that the people of Gaza have become weak and prone to diseases and epidemics. He said famines are not caused by a lack of food, but by a lack of access to food.

Ishtaye said the goods that entered Gaza only met eight percent of the people's needs, and called on the world to "drop food with parachutes and pressure Israel to open the crossings to allow food in." 

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Palestinians line up for a free meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Dec 21, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

Meanwhile, the Israeli army launched on Wednesday airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing and injuring dozens of people, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

A large number of displaced people live in the buildings that were hit by Israeli airstrikes, and most of them are still trapped under the rubble and cannot be rescued, according to Palestinian media outlets.

Before the attack, the Ministry of Health in Gaza just updated the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks to 22,313 

Local TV channel Palestine Today reported that at least 20 people were killed in the camp.

Meanwhile, local sources told Xinhua that rescuers could only work with their bare hands due to a lack of necessary equipment.

Before the attack, the Ministry of Health in Gaza just updated the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks to 22,313 and the number of wounded to 57,296. The ministry said in a statement that the Israeli army killed 128 Palestinians and wounded 261 others during the past 24 hours.

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Palestinian security sources said the Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea continued in most parts of the Gaza Strip, especially in the refugee camps in central Gaza.

The sources said Israeli aircraft destroyed three residential towers in the Nuseirat refugee camp and a residential building in the Bureij refugee camp.