Gaza scholarship students still trapped as Italy's evacuation process stalls

Since the 2025 university corridor began, over 200 Gaza-based scholars have been flown to Italy and San Marino under the IUPALS program, yet roughly 50 remain stranded awaiting permission to leave the occupied territory. The impasse stems from contradictory regulations and a lack of transparency, according to Anna Giada Altomare of the Fiori dai Cannoni charity that assists accepted students. Those left behind report confusing evacuation criteria, including language-test requirements that have not been eased despite ministry calls for flexibility.

Individual accounts describe prolonged uncertainty, fear of losing hard-won academic chances, and personal dilemmas such as family separation. While students like Nada Abunada and Mohamed Arafat have already started studies at Rome’s Sapienza University, many others—including a male computer-engineering scholar—still wait in Gaza. Neither Italy’s foreign ministry nor its university and research ministry has commented on the delays.