Israel faces pressure to allow Gaza students with offers from Scottish universities to travel to the UK, as campaigners urge urgent action.
The instance of a 32-year-old who holds a fully financed scholarship for an English literature PhD at Edinburgh University has been featured in The Sunday Mail.She is one of 102 students in the UK and about 40 students who will be studying in Scotland. Shaymaa, who taught at the Islamic University of Gaza until it was bombed early in the war, told the Sunday Mail:
“We still don’t have any updates regarding evacuation. We are just anxiously waiting for confirmation from the government that we will be evacuated on a specific date. I’m from east of Khan Yunis and we have been dis-placed in Al-Mawasi since May 19. Everyone in Gaza lives each moment as if it’s our last, our last moment on earth. We always feel like we could be the next target and at the same time we are waiting for a ceasefire. We’ve been living in this perpetual state of uncertainty for almost two years, it’s terrifying to have our feelings swinging between hope and dread thinking we could take our last breath at any minute. So this opportunity to study in Edinburgh for me is one of safety as well as of education. I welcome it and welcome becoming a genocide survivor. Studying in Edinburgh has been my lifelong dream. I can’t wait for that.
Even under normal circumstances, I’d have been so eager to get to Edinburgh to start my PhD. You can only imagine what it would mean for me to start my education, despite everything. Despite the genocide, the war, the bureaucratic complexities. I just want to get to the place I’ve been dreaming about.”
For the past two years, Shaymaa and her eleven family members have been living in a tent.
It is known that the students, who require Israeli consent, would first go to neighboring Jordan.
Only a cell phone, a charger, and a plastic bag with legal documents are allowed to be brought by the students, some of whom are scheduled to enroll in PhD and master's programs.
People who have dependents have been advised they are not allowed to bring their children. Universities receive daily briefings from the Scottish Government. Last week, the UK government met with university authorities for the first time.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said:
“The Scottish Government will work to ensure every eligible Gazan student with the offer of a scholarship is able to get to Scotland, where they will be warmly welcomed.”
The Sunday Mail raised Shaymaa’s plight with the UK Government and First Minister John Swinney, who has said coming here will save her life. Edinburgh MP Christine Jardine said:
“I’ll be putting pressure on the Government to make sure they deliver what they promised.”
The UK Government said students must go through biometric processing to be considered for a visa.
A spokesperson said:
“We are working urgently to support students in Gaza who have offers to a British university with a full scholarship. But the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging.”
What are the UK government's plans for Gaza students' evacuation?
The government is also offering assistance to every student from Gaza who holds a verifiable full scholarship to study at a UK university in the 2025/26 academic year, including full tuition and living costs.
Students who are offered evacuation support will also need to undergo comprehensive "biometrics" and "robust security checks" before traveling to the UK.
Because of both travel restrictions imposed by Israel on Gaza and the closure of visa application centres in Gaza, evacuations are taking place through third countries. A cross-government taskforce is working to coordinate the safe passage of the students, working with the devolved administrations and acting as a liaison with the universities to identify eligible students and provide logistical support.