Gaza Conflict: Palestinian Students in Morocco Fear for Loved Ones Amid Israeli Offensive

Being able to get news of their loved ones in Gaza keeps Palestinian students in Morocco alive. Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas, they have been in a cold sweat. Between panic, anguish and anxiety, they are struggling to pursue their studies in tranquility. "As Palestinian students, we live in constant anxiety: our morale and mental state are in a bad state because we are constantly worried about the fate of our families and we have cut contacts with them for long periods. What is happening in Gaza is a disaster and we feel a powerlessness that is difficult to describe," says Fatima Amsha (23), a Master’s student in Legislation and Work of Constitutional Institutions at the University Mohammed V in Rabat.

Fatima arrived in Morocco in 2019 to pursue her higher education. This is the first time she finds herself outside of Gaza while bombings are intensifying on the strip. During previous Israeli offensives, she lived in Gaza with her family. "I lost many of my friends and neighbors, and my friend saw her mother, sister and brother killed when the Israeli army bombed their home. She spent a week in