Students Evacuated from Gaza to Pursue Studies in the UK

Sat Oct 18 2025 07:15:03 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A group of 34 students from Gaza have been evacuated to study at British universities, marking the first such evacuation since the recent conflict began. The students, who hold fully funded scholarships, are expected to arrive in the UK soon.

In a significant development, 34 students from Gaza, including medical doctors, have been evacuated to the UK to commence their university studies. This marks the first organized evacuation of students since the conflict escalated. The students are currently undergoing visa biometric checks in a third country before completing their journey. The effort has been supported by the UK government and has raised hopes for more evacuations in the future, although many eligible students remain trapped in Gaza.

A group of 34 students in Gaza with places at British universities have been evacuated and are due to arrive in the UK within days.

It is the first time since the conflict began that people have been helped to leave the Strip in order to study in the UK.

They are now in a third country in the region for visa biometric checks before completing their journey to the UK.

All 34 have fully funded scholarships and have received support from the UK government to leave Gaza.

The group, which includes at least four medical doctors, were assisted in leaving the Strip on Wednesday.

They are expected to be brought to the UK early next week to take up their university places.

One of the students who has been evacuated told the BBC that they are tired but well, describing the last 48 hours as \u0022very intense\u0022 and \u0022challenging\u0022 to leave behind family members and others still awaiting evacuation.

The group includes scholars under the Chevening Scholarship, a mostly government-funded scheme for international students to study a one-year master's degree in the UK.

The evacuation follows months of campaigning by politicians, academics, and others on behalf of more than 100 Palestinian students holding offers from UK universities this year.

It remains unclear when the next group of eligible students might be evacuated.

We remain hopeful that the UK government will support all eligible students to be evacuated and are aware of at least 35 students with full scholarships who are still trapped in Gaza, Dr. Nora Parr, a University of Birmingham researcher, said.

Concerns have also been raised for students with dependents, as some families were unable to join the evacuation due to childcare responsibilities.

Recent weeks have seen an influx of severely ill children arriving in the UK for urgent NHS specialist medical care, indicating the breadth of need in Gaza amid ongoing conflict.

The situation remains volatile, with escalating violence and humanitarian concerns in the region.

On October 7, Israel launched a military operation in response to an attack by Hamas, which resulted in substantial casualties. Since then, casualties in Gaza have tragically exceeded 65,000, highlighting the ongoing humanitarian crisis.