Gaza students wait for Italy evacuation after scholarships

About 50 Gaza students with scholarships to Italian universities are still waiting for clearance to leave the territory, non-governmental organisations say, despite Italy having evacuated 246 scholarship recipients since September 2025.

Italy's foreign ministry said 246 scholarship recipients from Gaza were flown to Italy and San Marino between September 2025 and June through the IUPALS programme for Palestinian students. Anna Giada Altomare, founder of the Fiori dai Cannoni charity that helps accepted students, said there have been no evacuations since June 1.

The Italian foreign ministry said it was working in “an extremely complex operational context”. It said the timing of evacuations “falls outside the remit of Italian authorities” and “depends primarily on decisions and authorisations of relevant foreign authorities”. The Israeli foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AFP for comment.

Students who remain in Gaza say bureaucratic problems and confusing evacuation criteria continue. One male student in Gaza, who was awarded a scholarship to study computer engineering in October 2025 and asked not to be named, described uncertainty over travel dates and fear of losing an opportunity he had worked for. He said he had tried to learn Italian despite internet outages and daily pressure during the war.

In July, Italy's university and research ministry called for greater flexibility in applying language requirements to students from conflict zones, but students remain waiting.

Some students have already reached Italy. Nada Abunada and Mohamed Arafat began economics studies at Rome's Sapienza University in November 2025 after leaving Gaza. Arafat said Italy's consulate in Jerusalem alerted him to his evacuation only the day before.

Other students face additional barriers. A pre-med graduate said she was accepted to an Italian master's programme in June 2025 without a scholarship, but was later told by the Italian consulate that students without scholarships would not be evacuated. Altomare said it was unacceptable for mothers to have to choose between studying abroad and leaving children behind in Gaza.