Palestinian student with hopes to study in Wales ‘killed by Israel’

Stephen Price

A Cardiff human rights group has shared the ‘devastating’ news that a Palestinian student aiming to study at Cardiff University ‘has been killed by Israel’.

In a social media post published on Tuesday 9 September, BLM Cardiff shared a ‘tragic update’ about the fate of medical student Mohammed Al-Habibi, who “was killed in Al-Nasser Hospital, where he had gone to support the wards after attending lectures.

The post, featuring an image of reads:  “Mohammed Al-Habibi, one of the three Gaza students we’ve been fundraising for to come to Cardiff University has been killed in Israel’s attacks.

“This appeal is now for the two students who remain alive — to help them reach safety and continue their studies here in Cardiff.

“The deadline is 10 September. We must reach the target if they are to make it out.

“Let’s honour their friend’s memory by making sure these two survivors can live, learn, and build a future in safety.”

Fundraiser

BLM Cardiff now hope to raise £20,000 in two days to support two surviving medical students, in a fundraiser created by Susan White.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by BLM Cardiff & Vale (@blmcardiff)

The fundraiser reads: “As you know there has been widespread destruction of hospitals and healthcare services in Gaza since the war began. Despite this, and personal losses and displacement, medical students have carried on with their studies.

“We have been working closely with colleagues in Cardiff university and Cardiff and Vale health board to secure an agreement for two medical students from Gaza to come to Cardiff for the next academic year. They need clinical placements to gain essential clinical experience – something which is no longer possible in Gaza.”

“Their access to Cardiff university services will be free, and we are hoping volunteers will provide accommodation. However they will need financial support for visas, travel and living expenses. We are hoping to raise money to help them during their time with us. Please consider giving what you can.

“Any money donated will be used to pay for visas and flights, and the rest redirected to the Hanoon Foundation (THF), a British-registered charity founded in 1997 to advance medical education in Palestine. Their mission is to ensure Gaza can continue to produce future doctors, who will be needed more then ever over the next few years. THF will provode regular financial support for the students. In the event that the two students are unable to come to Wales e.g. due to visa issues, then the money raised will be used to support other students in a similar position.”

Palestine

More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, local health officials have said.

The news came as Hamas and Israel reiterated their incompatible demands for ending the fighting sparked by the militant group’s 2023 attack.

Israeli troops are currently operating on the outskirts of Gaza City, in the initial stages of a planned offensive to take over the most populous Palestinian city, home to around a million people, many of whom have already been displaced multiple times.

Shifa Hospital in Gaza City received 25 bodies, including nine children and six women, after Israeli strikes hit tents housing displaced people, according to hospital records. Among those killed was a 10-day-old baby. Another three people were killed in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Gaza’s health ministry said that 64,231 Palestinians had been killed since the start of the war. The latest update includes around 400 who were presumed missing but whose deaths it said had been confirmed. It does not say how many of those killed in the war were militants or civilians. It says women and children make up around half the dead.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate of wartime deaths by UN agencies and many independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Pope Leo and his top diplomats told Israel’s president on Thursday that a two-state solution was the “only way out of the war”, as the Vatican called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and entry of humanitarian aid to the most affected areas.

The Vatican issued an unusually detailed statement following Leo’s meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog who, for his part, said he had asked the pope to meet with families of the hostages, and called for intensified international efforts to secure their release.

The audience marked the first by history’s first American pope with the Israeli head of state.

The Vatican has tried to maintain its tradition of diplomatic neutrality throughout the war, calling for the return of hostages while denouncing Israel’s attacks against civilians in Gaza.

But both Pope Francis before, and Leo since his election in May, have voiced mounting outrage at Israel’s actions in Gaza, with the late pope calling for an investigation to determine if they constituted genocide.

View the appeal to help the two other students here.

Cardiff University has been invited to comment.