Martyr Date: 09/04/2025

Age: 60 years old

Dr. Omar Harb was a prominent Palestinian academic, writer and poet prior to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Dr. Omar, who had several qualifications in psychology and graduated from Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar university, was active in his field up until the onslaught on Gaza began, regularly participating in regional events.

Dr. Omar had lost at least 26 members of his family, including his wife, several children and grandchildren before he was killed by starvation.

Five of his family’s homes had also been destroyed by the zionist entity.

Prior to October 2023, Dr. Omar was an active man and weighed nearly 120kg (264 pounds)… 3 weeks before he died to death from starvation, he was interviewed by Al-Jazeera and the scholar weighed no more than 40kg (88 pounds).

Though Dr. Omar was told that he would be evacuated from Gaza during Ramadan last year, he then received a call to inform him that his name was not in fact on the list of evacuees headed for Egypt. 

“I saw my pictures before and after, and I thought: ‘it’s impossible that this is the same person’,” he recalled in the interview with Al Jazeera. 

“We no longer know why we have reached this point. The people are suffering and no one is paying attention to the suffering of the people. We are waiting for God, glory be to Him, to stand with us.” 

In the interview, he looked obviously starved and was extremely sad over the difficulties he faced- mostly the killing of his loved ones. He called for food, medication, treatment and a new wheelchair- but no one was able to save him in time.

Source: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/prominent-palestinian-academic-dies-israeli-famine