Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf says his Palestinian in-laws are ‘trapped’ in Gaza as the Israeli military lays siege to Hamas-controlled territory after bloody terrorist raid

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf revealed his Palestinian parents in-law have become ‘trapped’ in Gaza by the Israeli military, leaving him worried if they will ‘make it through the night’.

The parents of his wife Nadia El-Nakla, who live in Dundee, were in Gaza visiting family when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel this weekend, killing hundreds.

The Israeli Defence Force has now laid siege to the territory, which has a population of around two million. It has drawn up a force of 600 planes and 300 rocket launchers, plus 173,000 soldiers preparing to launch a massive co-ordinated ground assault within the ‘next 48 hours’.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Mr Yousaf said: ‘As many will know, my wife is Palestinian, her mum and dad, my in-laws, who live in Dundee, live in Scotland, they’ve been in Gaza and are currently trapped in Gaza, I’m afraid.’

They went to visit Mr Yousaf’s father in-law’s 92-year-old ‘elderly and frail’ mother, when the Hamas attack took place and have been told by Israeli authorities to leave because ‘Gaza will effectively be obliterated’, the First Minister said.

‘Despite the best efforts of the British Foreign Office, nobody, nobody can guarantee them safe passage anywhere,’ he said. ‘So I’m in a situation where, frankly, night by night, day by day, we don’t know whether or not my mother in law and father in law – who have nothing to do, as most Gazans don’t, with Hamas or with any terror attack – whether they will make it through the night or not.’

Mr Yousaf also issued an ‘unequivocal condemnation’ of the Hamas attack.

The parents of his Palestinian wife Nadia El-Nakla, who live in Dundee, were in Gaza visiting family when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel this weekend, killing hundreds.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Mr Yousaf said: ‘As many will know, my wife is Palestinian, her mum and dad, my in-laws, who live in Dundee, live in Scotland, they’ve been in Gaza and are currently trapped in Gaza, I’m afraid.’

Ms El_Nakla has family living permanently in the region in addition to her grandmother.

Her brother Mohammed is a doctor there, and he and his wife Duas have twin sons Amjid and Majid, and a daughter, Layla. In 2021 she said she also had an aunt living in Gaza City.

Her paternal grandfather fled to Scotland after he lost his lands to Israeli settlers in 1948 and she has been outspoken int he past about the treatment of Palestinians. 

‘I feel our blood is cheap, that is how I feel,’ she told The National in 2021. 

‘I feel so sad the world does not value our blood but also really angry about the way this is being portrayed. The ­mainstream ­media is very one-sided. They keep saying it is conflict on both sides but they don’t mention that Gaza is illegally occupied by Israel, is under siege and has no protection. It is ­victim blaming.’

The First Minister and his wife ‘cannot sleep’ due to worry for her parents, he said.

He added: ‘I’m worried about my family – there will be many people, including in Scotland’s Jewish community for example, who will be really worried about their family in Israel that have come to harm.

‘My thoughts go out to everybody, because innocent civilians have nothing to do with the conflict, they have nothing to do with Hamas terror, have nothing to do with the loss of life and they’re the ones often – innocent people – who are paying the price.’

Israel’s Defence Forces have said they want to completely strip Hamas of its power to govern in Palestine after what has been described as the country’s ‘worst day in history’ with the number of Israeli’s killed in the conflict set to rise further.

Hundreds of Palestinians have also been killed and buildings reduced to rubble after Israel began its deadly revenge attack.

The Israeli airstrikes have so far flattened much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the Palestinian enclave’s north-east corner, which Hamas terrorists had been using as a staging ground for their attacks.

In a statement, the Israeli Air Force said it dropped some 2,000 munitions and more than 1,000 ton bombs on Gaza aimed at over 10,000 targets in Gaza in the last 20 hours.

Among the targets were three rocket launchers directed at Israel, a mosque where militants were operating and 21 high-rise buildings that served militant activity.

Now, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said authorities will cut electricity to the Gaza Strip and block the entry of food and fuel, declaring his troops are ‘fighting barbaric [terrorists] and will respond accordingly’.

The measures will essentially enact siege-like conditions that will see the millions of Palestinians living in the tiny, fenced-in region begin to starve as they are attacked from the skies.

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