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LONDON: Palestinian scholars in Gaza who had been granted places at British universities arrived in the UK on Monday, The Guardian reported.

One British researcher who had supported the 34 students — who have fully funded scholarships — said they had taken a “surreal journey from devastation to opportunity.”

The group arrived in London and Manchester on three flights from Jordan’s Queen Alia Airport.

Several took connecting flights to Northern Ireland and Scotland, where they will attend universities and complete their studies.

The arrival follows months of hard campaigning by academics, politicians and human rights organizations, which have lobbied on behalf of more than 100 Palestinian students in Gaza who were offered British university places.

The Palestinians were awarded spots beginning in the autumn, but have had no way to safely leave the besieged territory amid Israel’s military campaign. Supporters of the students hope that the initial arrival will precede further flights.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “The flight time from Amman to England is only around six hours, but this was a journey that was months in the planning and years in the making.

“These students have lived through the most appalling ordeal. After almost two years of war, many have lost loved ones, and all have had their lives and their education thrown into chaos.

“Yet despite all the death and destruction they’ve witnessed, they’ve not given up. Instead, they’ve chosen to answer loss with learning, despair with determination and war with hope.” She added that the students are an “inspiration to us all.”

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who is in New York City for the 80th UN General Assembly, said the government campaign to bring them to the UK reflects its “commitment to the future of post-war Gaza and its reconstruction, where educating the next generation will play a vital role.”

Some of the Palestinians who arrived in the UK have been awarded spots in elite programs such as the Chevening scholarship, Britain’s top international talent scheme. It enables recipients to complete one-year-long master’s degrees in the UK.

Two Palestinian women who were set to depart on the UK-bound flights reportedly declined after being told that their young children and spouses would be barred from leaving Gaza with them.

The two PhD candidates were informed that though their families were eligible for UK visas, they could not be placed on the buses that were set to leave Gaza for Jordan.

Nora Parr, a researcher at the University of Birmingham who has organized efforts to support the students, said the scholars “are beginning a new chapter of what has for all been a surreal journey from devastation to opportunity.”

She added: “Of course, the logistics and parameters of the new UK scheme for students are still being worked out.

“We hope that mothers and fathers will not be asked to choose between education and family survival, that post-doctoral scholars will be included and that mechanisms toward a permanent pathway for education in the UK will be established, as a political solution is created for Palestine, allowing these scholars to use what they have learned in the UK to rebuild their communities.”

NEW YORK: The US Secret Service said on Tuesday it had dismantled a network of sophisticated electronic devices in the New York area that had been used to threaten US government officials as foreign leaders gather this week for the UN General Assembly.
The agency said the devices were concentrated within 35 miles (56 km) of the global meeting of the 193-member assembly, where US President Donald Trump was due to deliver a speech on Tuesday.
“Early analysis indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
Authorities seized more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites in an operation the agency said represented an imminent threat to its protective operations.
The hardware was used to “conduct multiple telecommunications-related threats directed toward senior US government officials,” the Secret Service said.
It said the devices discovered could be used to conduct a range of telecommunications attacks including “disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.”
The tri-state area where the network was located includes New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.