Academics call on minister to get Palestinian students out of Gaza

Palestinians walk on the Mediterranean beachfront in Gaza City on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

OTTAWA — A group of academics and activists wants the federal government to help Palestinians accepted for postgraduate studies in Canada get out of Gaza, but the immigration minister says she can’t do that alone.

The Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network says there are about 130 master’s degree and doctoral students in Gaza who are unable to file the biometric data they need to come to Canada, such as fingerprints.

Other countries, including France, have worked with Israel to facilitate passage for students.

The network says there are about 30 Palestinian students in Egypt who have been waiting more than 18 months for their visas to be approved.

The group wants Immigration Minister Lena Diab to help get people out of Gaza and to speed up approvals of student visas.

Diab tells The Canadian Press that international students must go through the same processes, no matter what country they’re from, and that facilitating evacuations requires collaboration with other government departments.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press