Gaza PhD student and family evacuated to UK after Foreign Office U-turn | Gaza

The UK government finally evacuated Gaza student Manar al-Houbi, who won a fully-funded scholarship to pursue her PhD at the University of Glasgow, and her family from the war-torn region this week.

In October, the Guardian highlighted Houbi’s desperate fight to have his family evacuated after they were refused entry to the UK, even though his scholarship and visa allowed him to bring them.

As part of the UK’s crackdown on immigration, most international students have been prevented from bringing in dependents.

Shortly after Houbi’s story, the UK government made a U-turn in policy, stating that it would support the evacuation of dependents “on a case-by-case basis”.

Houbi and his family have now reached Jordan and will leave for England shortly. They are the only family traveling together from Gaza, whose evacuation the British government facilitated. While many students had no choice but to leave their families behind, others refused to take their place.

Expiring on December 31, 2025 UK’s Gaza evacuation plan described by students as beset by delays, poor communication and uncertainty. This has left students stranded in Gaza, where conditions have worsened due to flooding, increasing food shortages and disease.

Some told the Guardian they felt pressure from the UK government to travel without their children, despite the recent policy change saying they could bring their children.

When the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advised 32-year-old Wahhaj Muhammad to consider evacuating alone, he believed his family would soon follow. But two months have passed and his wife and two children remain stranded in Gaza, with no clear timetable or assurance from the UK as to when they will join him.

Mohammed says he has been haunted by feelings of guilt ever since he came to Glasgow to study for a PhD. “Uncertainty affects every aspect of my life here,” he says. “It’s hard to settle down, feel present, or stay academically engaged when the people you love continue to live under constant threat.”

Mohammed was given no explanation as to why his family was not on the last evacuation bus that departed this week. British officials said they were “hopeful” they could evacuate in the new year but offered no guarantees.

Two other eligible students who refused to leave their families behind and were not allowed to evacuate this week do not know whether they will have to defer their studies for another year or risk losing their places altogether.

Amany Shaher expected to be well established in her research master’s degree at the University of Bristol by now. Instead, he’s confident he won’t make it out of this area this year as the fall semester comes to an end.

“None of us know whether the student evacuation program in the UK will be extended,” says Shaher. “We have not been given clear guidance or timeline and have no idea what 2026 will bring.”

The 34-year-old mother of three says she felt nauseous when given the option of traveling alone without her children. “How could I even consider leaving my children in Gaza?” he asks. “Nowhere else in the world would a mother be expected to be separated from her children so easily. It’s dehumanizing. We have the right to stay together as a family and not be forced to separate; that shouldn’t be too much to ask.”

Mohammed Aldalou holds a scholarship to pursue his research master’s degree and PhD at the London School of Economics (LSE). But he has remained in bureaucratic limbo with British officials for the past six months, which he described as “almost as traumatic as the war itself”.

Her five-year-old son is severely autistic and cannot speak, and has not been able to access treatment for two years. However, the FCDO suggested Aldalou take the opportunity to leave while he can, but Aldalou refuses. “They should ask themselves what they would do if they were in my shoes,” he says.

Aldalou insists that the family cannot leave Gaza without a guarantee of evacuation. “It’s heartbreaking that after everything we’ve been through, we’re being asked to make this impossible decision.”

Last week, a closed meeting between the education ministry and universities discussed whether students still stranded in Gaza could begin their studies online and whether the evacuation plan could be expanded to allow for later arrivals.

But sources told the Guardian it was unlikely the FCDO would extend the scheme without the Home Office’s approval. FCDO declined to comment further, while the education ministry said it had nothing to add.