Italy Poised To Accommodate 70 Students Displaced From Gaza.

Rome; May 2026: Seventy-two Palestinian university students from Gaza have crossed the Israeli Kerem Shalom crossing today as part of the “university corridors” initiative, launched by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The initiative aims to allow students to leave the Gaza Strip and enter Italy to study at Italian universities. After completing visa and permit procedures, the convoy will reach the Allenby crossing in Jordan, arrived in Amman today (13th May) early morning, where they were hosted at the Italian Embassy in Amman. Of the 72 students who left the Strip, 70 are headed to Italy and 02 to the Republic of San Marino. They are expected to reach Rome today early evening before proceeding to Milan.

“With this new university corridor”, Tajani stated, “we continue to offer young Palestinians a concrete opportunity for a future, education, and security. Italy reaffirms its humanitarian commitment to the civilian population of Gaza and its support for the right to education, even in the dramatic context of the Strip”.

Students will be accepted at 21 Italian universities, including the University of Milan, the Universities of Sassari and Cagliari, the Alma Mater University of Bologna, La Sapienza and Tor Vergata in Rome, the University of Calabria, Bocconi University in Milan, the Universities of Parma, Trieste, Palermo, Foggia, Pavia, Camerino, and Naples Federico II. Two students are also headed to the University of San Marino.

Today’s operation brings the number of students evacuated from Gaza since September 2025, vide the Italian initiative to 229: 157 students had already been relocated in the four operations carried out between September and December last year, in addition to the 72 students who left the Strip yesterday (12th May). The operations are coordinated by the Italian Government with the Embassies in Tel Aviv and Amman and the Consulate General in Jerusalem, in coordination with the Jordanian and Israeli authorities. They are part of the “IUPALS” (Italian Universities for Palestinian Students) program, promoted by the Conference of Italian University Rectors in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of University and Research.

The “university corridors” initiative is also part of Italy’s broader humanitarian commitment to supporting the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, as part of the “Food for Gaza” program launched by Minister Tajani and covering humanitarian aid, healthcare, and education programs.

Returning from his mission to Bratislava, where he attended the ministerial meeting of the Friends of the Western Balkans, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will be at Fiumicino Airport this afternoon to welcome the first group of Palestinian university students who left the Gaza Strip yesterday as part of the “university corridors” initiative, facilitated by the Farnesina (Ministry Of Foreign Affairs) to allow young Palestinians to continue their academic studies at Italian universities. 59 students will arrive in the capital today, while the other 11 will arrive in Milan tomorrow.

The Farnesina is also working to implement further operations in the coming months, in coordination with the Israeli and Jordanian authorities, to allow other Palestinian students to reach Italy and continue their studies safely.

Team Maverick.