AMNA NAWAZ: Today, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and called for Israel to respect the sovereignty of -- quote -- "sisterly Iran."

It marked the strongest criticism of Israel by the man known as MBS since the Hamas October 7 attack and signaled a turn away from Saudi normalization with Jerusalem, all this as a U.N.-affiliated organization is warning of -- quote -- "imminent famine in Gaza."

Here's Nick Schifrin with more.

NICK SCHIFRIN: This weekend, an independent famine review committee affiliated with the United Nations declared that across Northern Gaza, starvation, malnutrition and excess mortality are -- quote -- "rapidly increasing" and famine thresholds may have already been crossed or else will be in the near future.

Little to no aid has reached Northern Gaza over the last month, since Israel launched a new operation and called on all residents to leave, saying Hamas had regrouped.

Jan Egeland, a longtime diplomat and humanitarian who is the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, recently traveled to Gaza and joins me now from Amman.

Jan Egeland, thank you very much.

Welcome back to the "News Hour."

Let me first show you the areas of Northern Gaza that we're going to be talking about.

The Israeli operation last month has focused on Jabalia, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun.

You were only able to travel as far north as Gaza City.

What did you see?

JAN EGELAND, Secretary-General, Norwegian Refugee Council: Well, Gaza City looks like Stalingrad after the Second World War.

It was much worse than I feared.

I'm really shattered by seeing how humanity has been trampled upon through Gaza.

More than two million people are trapped in one of the most confined areas on the planet and they're under the most intense and indiscriminate bombardment by enormous Israeli air force.

And they're using indiscriminate bombs provided by the United States.

This will come to haunt Israel and the United States because this is so much against every principle of civilization and of law.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The Israeli operation in the farther most part of Gaza, the IDF says that Hamas has regrouped there.

Herzi Halevi, Israel's top general, said they have killed 1,000 Hamas over the last month, detained 1,000 more.

In a visit this weekend to that area, he added this: LT. GEN. HERZI HALEVI, Chief of Staff, Israeli Defense Forces (through translator): We are providing the Israeli residents near the northern Gaza border with greater security and creating conditions for the security to endure, to not be fleeting.

We are not stopping or slowing down.

This is to bring back the hostages, to ensure security for the surrounding communities.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Is that what you saw when you were there?

JAN EGELAND: I understand that the Israeli wants to have safety for the citizens and also to have the long-suffering hostages out.

But they cannot starve deliberately women and children to try to make Israel safer, at the cost of thousands of innocent Palestinian children's lives, will only smear Israel forever and not make the Israelis more safe.

By destroying the neighborhood in Gaza and in Lebanon will not make Israel more safe.

NICK SCHIFRIN: As I said, you couldn't go farther north than Gaza City.

When you requested to go north, what did they say?

What are the conditions, as far as you can tell, just north of Gaza City?

JAN EGELAND: There is a siege there.

It's a little bit like what the Assad regime in Syria did against the besieged areas in Syria, which outraged the United States, European Union, Britain, Germany, et cetera.

Israel is doing exactly the same.

It's starvation tactics against an area which I'm sure have some very bad guys inside, but many more babies.

This is not the way to exercise self-defense nor precise counterterrorism operations like the United States have asked for.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Israeli officials, of course, deny that they are conducting any kind of starvation campaign.

And on the warning from the famine review committee, specifically, Israel's coordinator in Gaza said this weekend -- quote -- "The researchers Continue to rely on partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests."

Israel points out there is aid from Jordan arriving into Northern Gaza, some 700 trucks over the last month.

They have also facilitated the movement of the entire population from Northern Gaza.

Again, does any of that match what you are seeing?

JAN EGELAND: No, it doesn't at all.

I mean, I'm amazed how journalists sort of takes one party in a very dirty war as a good source.

Don't believe the Israeli propaganda.

Don't believe Hamas propaganda.

Don't believe Hezbollah propaganda.

There is a reason Israel is denying PBS and all other independent journalism in the world access to Gaza.

They don't want independent witnesses.

We who are there who are independent, neutral, impartial, all U.N. agencies, all Red Cross agencies, all nongovernmental agencies, American, European, et cetera, we are unanimous in that Israel is deliberately starving the population and having an indiscriminate, excessive warfare that are killing thousands of women and children.

There is no doubt that this has been documented.

Israel is not telling the truth.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And, finally, Jan Egeland, winter is coming to Gaza.

JAN EGELAND: Yes.

NICK SCHIFRIN: I wonder how much that will exacerbate all the things that we have been talking about.

JAN EGELAND: After having seen all of these families, all of these mothers who were crying to get a tent, a blanket, a mattress after their home has been destroyed by the carpet-bombing, many will die this winter in the area where Israel is asking people to go, and no water, no sanitation.

Epidemic disease is spreading.

This is a catastrophe that has been announced for a very long time, and it will come to haunt Israel and its allies.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, thank you very much.

JAN EGELAND: Thank you.