A complex diplomatic operation, led by Trinity College, has been successful in securing permission for prospective students to leave Gaza and transit through Israel, Jordan and Türkiye to begin their studies in Ireland.
The latest of four groups of students were supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs to leave Gaza by bus, travelling first to Amman, before boarding flights to Dublin via Istanbul.
A further 33 students travelled alongside them, who had secured places at British universities, as the UK joined Irish efforts to extract students from the growing humanitarian crisis.
Touching down in Dublin, The PIE News understands that the students were taken to medical facilities to assess their health before joining their host universities.
With the academic year now in full swing, the students will be fully supported to integrate and succeed in their academic studies as they settle in to their new lives.
Trinity College led a group of 11 Irish universities to raise funds to ensure Gazan students could be supported in Ireland both financially and academically.
The universities collaborating to welcome Gazan students are:
- Trinity College Dublin
- South East Technological University
- University College Dublin
- University of Limerick
- Mary Immaculate College
- University of Galway
- Maynooth University
- Atlantic Technological University
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
- TU Dublin
- Dublin City University
The institutions have all waived tuition fees for the students and secured further funding through independent non-government sources including university foundations and anonymous donors.
With over 60 evacuated Gazan students enrolling at institutions around the country this autumn, Ireland has taken the lead among European countries in its efforts to rescue students from the growing crisis.
The Gazan evacuation operation will be one of the many topics discussed at The PIE Live Ireland taking place at UCD on 14 October 2025. For ticket and agenda information please see the event website for full details.
