Gaza War Leaves 50 Scholarship Students Stranded Despite Italy Evacuation Program

Reporting based primarily on bangkokpost.com.

Dozens of Palestinian students awarded scholarships to study in Italy remain stuck in Gaza due to bureaucratic delays in Italy's IUPALS evacuation program, even as more than 200 others have successfully reached Italian universities since late 2025 amid the Gaza war. [1]

Evacuation Delays for Scholarship Students

More than 200 Palestinian students were evacuated to Italy and San Marino between September 2025 and June through the IUPALS program, but no evacuations have occurred since June 1. [1] About 50 scholarship recipients who met the same requirements as those already in Italy are still awaiting clearance, amid destroyed higher education institutions in Gaza. [1] Students report facing confusing evacuation criteria, language test issues, and rules that exclude those with private sponsors or without scholarships. [1] Between September 2025 and June, 246 scholarship recipients from Gaza were flown to Italy and San Marino in a series of evacuations through Italy's IUPALS program for Palestinian students, according to the foreign ministry. [1] There have been no evacuations since June 1, said Anna Giada Altomare, founder of the Fiori dai Cannoni charity that helps the accepted students, who cited conflicting rules and a lack of transparency within the program. [1]

Impact of Destroyed Universities in Gaza

Palestinian Red Crescent opens field hospital in Gaza serving nearly 500000 people. — Source: anadolu

The war has eliminated higher education options inside Gaza, using examples of students who graduated with top scores but could not enroll locally. [1] Nada Abunada and Mohamed Arafat are among the lucky ones who reached Italy. [1] They began their studies in economics at Rome's Sapienza University in November 2025, having graduated high school in Gaza with scores above 99 percent. [1] Abunada told AFP in Rome that she could not enrol in university in Gaza because the war started and everything she had been planning for disappeared, adding that most universities were destroyed. [1] Arafat was studying business administration at Gaza's Al-Azhar University before the war forced him to stop, and he said they were focused on surviving. [1]

Personal Stories of Students in Limbo

Students describe destroyed dreams, family separation dilemmas, and the inability to obtain required grade equivalency documents because Gaza ministries are not functioning. [1] One male student still waiting in Gaza described a long waiting period, the uncertainty about the travel date, and the fear of losing an educational opportunity obtained after great effort. [1] They were alerted to their evacuation just the day before by Italy's consulate in Jerusalem. [1] Arafat did not tell anyone until the very last day because he was not sure it would happen and did not have much time to say goodbye. [1] A pre-med graduate who also asked not to be named told AFP she was accepted to an Italian master's program in June 2025 without asking for a scholarship but was later told by the Italian consulate that those without scholarships would not be evacuated. [1]

Broader Scholarship and Evacuation Hurdles

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Students report facing confusing evacuation criteria, language test issues, and rules that exclude those with private sponsors or without scholarships. [1] Other Palestinian students hoping to study in Turkey, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium face similar unexplained delays. [1] The young man still in Gaza who was awarded a scholarship to study computer engineering in October 2025 wonders whether his score on an Italian proficiency exam may have played a role in delaying his evacuation. [1] He tried to answer as much as he could since he had been learning Italian despite all the difficult circumstances, including internet outages, fear, and the pressure of daily life during the war. [1] In July, Italy's university and research ministry called for greater flexibility in applying the language requirement to students from conflict zones, but that has not helped the students still waiting in Gaza. [1] Altomare said students with private Italian sponsors are also not being evacuated, questioning the rationale for rejecting such applicants. [1] Beyond administrative hurdles, students face difficult personal choices, such as family separation and mothers unable to evacuate with their children. [1]

Health Infrastructure Collapse and New Field Hospital

The Palestinian Red Crescent has opened a field hospital in Gaza to serve nearly 500,000 people amid the destruction of 90% of the territory's infrastructure, including hospitals. [2] Its opening comes amid consequences of Israeli war, which has destroyed 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure, including hospitals and health facilities. [2]

Calls for Faster Government Action

The Italian government could resolve this situation very quickly, Altomare said, adding that it is the state that should accelerate the process. [1] Neither the foreign ministry nor the ministry for universities and research responded to a question from AFP about the evacuation delays. [1] Contacted by AFP, the Israeli foreign ministry also did not immediately respond for comment. [1] Back in Gaza, the computer engineering student expressed the frustration felt by many, saying they are not just files or numbers and all they ask is to be given the opportunity they have already earned, and not to let their dreams disappear while they wait. [1] Arafat worries whether his family will be forced to leave their home, where they hear nightly strikes from nearby Israeli forces, and he is trying to help his younger brothers study in Italy, but said they face even greater challenges than he did because they have been asked to provide an equivalency assessment of their grades that they cannot possibly meet since there are no functioning ministries or institutions in Gaza. [1]

What to watch next: No evacuations have occurred since June 1 through the IUPALS program, and neither the foreign ministry nor the ministry for universities and research has responded about the delays while the Palestinian Red Crescent field hospital opens to serve nearly 500,000 people.