Humza Yousaf's in-laws 'living through torture' in Gaza

The First Minister spoke to his mother-in-law today

Humza Yousaf’s mother-in-law has said she is living through “torture” in Gaza, the First Minister said.

Speaking to journalists from flood-hit Brechin on Monday, Mr Yousaf was seen to step away from cameras to take a call, which he later said was from Elizabeth El-Nakla.

Mrs El-Nakla and her husband Maged – the parents of Mr Yousaf’s wife Nadia – travelled to Gaza to visit family when hostilities flared up.

Elizabeth El-Nakla is trapped in Gaza

“They’re really living in a situation that my mother-in-law describes as torture,” he said.

“The whole night there will be missiles, rocket fire, drones – they don’t know whether they are going to make it from one night to the next.

“They’re down to six bottles of clean drinking water in a house of 100 people including a two-month-old baby, she tells me.”

Mr Yousaf said he was “pleading” with the UK Government to demand the Rafah border in the south of the Gaza Strip is opened.

“She’s asking me, she’s pleading with me, and I’m pleading with the UK Government, not to just ask for the border to be opened, but to demand that Rafah crossing is opened and there’s a ceasefire right now.

“Because above and beyond my mother-in-law and father-in-law who are two people, there’s 2.2 million people in Gaza, the vast majority are innocent men, women and children, nothing to do with Hamas or their terrible terrorist atrocities, who are suffering.

“Every single one of us has seen the images, we’ve all seen the pictures, we’re all heartbroken and yet there is no ceasefire.

“People who want to leave should be allowed to leave and we need far more aid than a trickle of 15 or 20 trucks going in every single day, so I hope the international community will step up their efforts to help the innocent people of Gaza.”