LONDON: Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf, whose wife’s parents are trapped in Gaza, has asked UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to call for a ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel, so that civilians can leave the war zone.
In a letter to Cleverly, Yousaf urged him to use the good relationship between the UK and Israel to request a humanitarian corridor be established that will allow civilians to flee through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
“Too many innocent people have already lost their lives as a consequence of these completely unjustifiable and illegitimate attacks by Hamas,” he wrote.
“However, innocent men, women and children cannot, and should not, pay the price for the actions of a terrorist group.”
Nadia El-Nakla, Yousaf’s wife, said her parents have been trapped in Gaza since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on Saturday and are “terrified” about what might happen next. The homes of some of her relatives have been destroyed by missile strikes, she told the BBC.
Her parents, Maged and Elizabeth El-Nakla, who live in the Scottish city of Dundee, had traveled to Gaza last week to visit their son, who is a father-of-four, and Maged’s 92-year-old mother, who is ill.
Days after they arrived, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Hundreds of people have since been killed on both sides, many of them civilians.
“They are now caught up in a war situation,” Nadia said of her parents. “My mother says that there is continual bombardment from land, sea and air.”
The couple had hoped to leave on Tuesday via the Rafah border crossing but it was bombed and no other way out is currently available.
Speaking from Bute House, the first minister’s official residence in Edinburgh, Nadia, who serves as an elected councillor on Dundee City Council, said: “They are just terrified, absolutely terrified, about what is to come and what is happening right now as we speak.”
She added that she is troubled by some of the language being used in reference to the conflict, in particular claims that Gaza will be “obliterated” in response to the Hamas attacks.
Nadia said she spoke to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Wednesday but currently there is no way out for her parents. Should that change, she said they will face an “impossible decision” as they would have to leave behind relatives who do not have UK passports.
