Pakistan announces scholarships for Palestinian medical students amid Israel attacks on Gaza

Pakistan will provide scholarships for Palestinian medical students from war-torn Gaza to continue their education in the South Asian country, the Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The decision was made on the directions of Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the country’s regulatory body for medical education, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said at a weekly news conference in the capital, Islamabad.

Palestinian students from Gaza will soon enrol in medical colleges in Pakistan in batches of 20-30, she added.

However, she did not specify how many students would be admitted to Pakistani medical colleges.

Al-Khidmat Foundation, one of the country’s largest relief organisations, and International Rafah University Islamabad will offer scholarships to 100 medical students from Gaza to continue their education in Pakistan.

The Foundation and the University signed an agreement with the Palestine Embassy in Islamabad last month.

READ: Israel has killed 8,672 students in Gaza and the West Bank since 7 October

The Al-Khidmat Foundation has already worked with Turkish and Egyptian relief agencies in Egypt and Gaza.

“The decision will enable Gaza students to complete their medical education in Pakistan in the fields of cardiology, orthopaedics, oncology, paediatrics and surgery to address the critical needs in Gaza’s health care system,” Baloch said.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), last week, reported that over 625,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have been deprived of education since the start of the Israeli occupation of the besieged enclave on Oct. 7, 2023.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since a 7 October, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 38,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on 6 May.

READ: Gaza high school students miss final exams as war rages