GAZA STRIP (Dispatches) -- A prominent Palestinian academic and poet, Omar Harb, has died from severe malnutrition amid the ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, local media reported on Thursday. 
Harb’s death highlights the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where famine conditions have been declared for the first time by the United Nations.
Harb, 60, had suffered significant health deterioration in recent weeks as a direct result of the blockade and Israeli military attacks. 
Once weighing nearly 120 kilograms, Harb had dropped to under 40 kilograms before his death. He lost at least 26 family members, including his wife, children, and grandchildren, with five family homes destroyed in Israeli attacks.
Despite his psychological expertise and active engagement in supporting Gaza’s beleaguered population, Harb was unable to receive timely medical aid or food supplies. He spoke shortly before his death about the unbearable suffering caused by the blockade and called for urgent humanitarian assistance.
The Gaza health ministry estimates that 1.9 million Palestinians in the territory are suffering from malnutrition, with more than 641,000 facing severe famine conditions. The United Nations’ Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC) officially declared famine in Gaza in August, marking a critical humanitarian threshold.
The UK-based aid group Islamic Relief condemned the crisis as a “shameful global failure,” saying Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians through its illegal blockade. The group also criticized international leaders for their inaction, calling the famine “entirely man-made” and a consequence of “cruel and illegal” policies.
Since 2007, Israel’s blockade has severely restricted the flow of food, medicine, and essential supplies into Gaza’s 2.2 million residents. The recent intensification of military strikes has further devastated civilian infrastructure and deepened the humanitarian disaster.