Gaza PhD student in Scotland slams Home Office for making it harder to flee genocide

A GAZA PhD student in Scotland has hit back at the Home Office making it more difficult for asylum seekers to flee the genocide by coming to the UK. Last week, officials changed advice claiming that the “scale and intensity of violence have decreased significantly” following the October 2025 “ceasefire” with Israel. The UK Government department has now essentially ruled that a civilian fleeing Gaza does not face a “real risk of serious harm”. READ MORE: Keir Starmer's two-child cap claim is a vain bid for a legacy he hasn't earned However, Manar Al-Houbi, a PhD student at the University of Glasgow, told The National that she finds the decision “very difficult to understand”. Al-Houbi previously issued a plea to the UK Government last year after she was told just days before her evacuation from Gaza that her family would not be able to come with her. In October, the UK Government bowed to pressure and changed its policy, allowing Gazan students to bring dependants with them to the UK. In response to the UK Government’s latest decision, Al-Houbi told The National that when she had recently spoken to her parents in Gaza she heard “explosions in the background”. “They are sounds I hear directly while speaking to them,” she explained. “Every call is filled with fear and uncertainty, because I do not know if it will be the last time I hear their voices.” Israeli forces have previously targeted the Khan Younis humanitarian area, where Al-Houbi and her family lived in a tent before coming to Scotland. They fled their home in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, after it was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. “The psychological impact on me is devastating,” she explained. “I am in the UK, but I do not feel safe emotionally or mentally. I live in constant fear for my parents, and the stress of not being able to protect them is overwhelming. It is unbearable. “It is very difficult to understand how official assessments can conclude that there is ‘no serious risk of harm’ when people are still being killed every day and my parents are living through this reality. READ MORE: Inside the web of money behind grifting Nigel Farage and Reform UK “How there is no serious harm while there is a serious harm on me here in the UK? “What we need is urgent humanitarian action and protection for families who are trapped in life-threatening conditions and cannot escape.” Al-Houbi pointed out that this past week surpassed 1000 days since the genocide in Gaza began, adding: “The long duration of killing let the world normalise the genocide. Around the world, people can flee the war except Gaza. “People in Ukraine, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan, and other conflict-affected countries have often been able to flee to safety. However, people in Gaza are in unimaginable situation: they are trapped and unable to escape. They should be treated as a top humanitarian priority, and we cannot simply stand by while they are dying. “No one should be forced to live with the fear of losing their parents while being completely powerless to help them. “There is a clear moral and humanitarian responsibility on governments and institutions to act urgently to protect civilians and ensure that people are not left without protection or options for survival. Ignoring our plea is genocidal. Ignoring our pain is unbearable.” Al-Houbi urged the UK Government to act “before it's too late”. The Home Office’s updated guidance now states that in Gaza the “scale and intensity of violence have decreased significantly”. “The security situation in Gaza is such that there are not substantial grounds for believing there is a real risk of serious harm because there exists a serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence,” it adds. READ MORE: How a simple data exercise descended into a Holyrood row about sex and gender Officials are told that a civilian may still face a risk of serious harm “if they are able to show that there are specific reasons over and above simply being a civilian affected by indiscriminate violence.” It means that caseworkers will no longer treat being a civilian from Gaza, by itself, as enough to meet that legal test, but does stress that each case must be “considered on its individual facts”. According to Gaza’s health ministry, 1050 people have been killed by Israel since the so-called “ceasefire” began. Last year, a United Nations (UN) inquiry determined that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. A Home Office spokesperson said: “Following a thorough assessment, it has been determined the scale and intensity of violence in Gaza has decreased significantly since the 10 October 2025 ceasefire and this should be factored into immigration claims. “We continue to assess all the evidence provided by claimants. Individuals from Gaza may still qualify for refugee status or humanitarian protection based on their circumstances. All cases are assessed on a case-by-case basis.”