SNP leader Humza Yousaf reveals his in-laws trapped in Gaza ‘are alive’ but ‘have run out of clean drinking water’ as Israeli forces pound Hamas

• Mr Yousaf had said on Saturday that they had been out of contact since the previous day after communications were knocked out

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has revealed that his in-laws trapped in Gaza are alive but have run out of clean drinking water.

Israel pounded Hamas-ruled Gaza with more air and ground attacks today in an escalating military campaign, with the IDF increasing the number of troops fighting inside the Gaza Strip overnight. 

Mr Yousaf said on Saturday that he and his wife, Nadia-El Nakla, had not been able to contact her parents since the previous day after communications were knocked out and they did not know if they were dead or alive. 

Ms El-Nakla’s parents, Elizabeth and Maged, from Dundee, travelled to Gaza from Scotland prior to the conflict to visit family. 

Posting a more positive update on Sunday, Mr Yousaf wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘We heard from my in-laws in Gaza this morning, they are alive, thank God. However, they have run out of clean drinking water.

Mr Yousaf had said on Saturday that he and his wife, Nadia-El Nakla, had not been able to contact her parents since the previous day after communications were knocked out and they did not know if they were dead or alive (File Photo)

Ms El-Nakla’s parents Elizabeth and Maged (pictured), from Dundee, travelled to Gaza before hostilities flared up earlier this month to visit family and became trapped

On Sunday, Mr Yousaf said on X, formerly Twitter: ‘We heard from my in-laws in Gaza this morning, they are alive, thank God’

‘The UN resolution must be implemented. We need the violence to stop, and for significant amounts of aid to get through without delay.’ 

The First Minister previously wrote to all political leaders in the UK, urging them to back a ceasefire in Gaza. 

In a letter understood to have been sent on Thursday evening, he said Israel has a right to defend itself following the Hamas attacks on October 7, but he added action must be taken now to stop the ‘staggering humanitarian disaster’ unfolding in Gaza before it becomes ‘cataclysmic’. 

On Saturday, Mr Yousaf said he and his wife Nadia El-Nakla are ‘desperately worried’ and that she is ‘numb’ as they try to find out news about her family. 

As Israel stepped up bombardment of Gaza and continues to expand its ground operation it has knocked out communications and created a near-blackout of information. 

Mr Yousaf told BBC Scotland: ‘We haven’t heard from them obviously since the intensity of the bombing last night and you can imagine how desperately worried we are, and to be frank, we don’t know if they are alive or dead.

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said on Saturday that he and his wife have not heard from his family, who have been ‘trapped’ in Gaza since Israel pounded the enclave

The Scottish First Minister said he and his wife Nadia El-Nakla (pictured) said they were ‘desperately worried’ and that she is ‘numb’ as they try to find out news about her family

‘And that is the reality not just facing us, clearly the reality for many people right across the world who haven’t heard from their loved ones who are trapped in Gaza and have been facing bombardment over the last three weeks.

‘My wife is numb to be honest, I’m trying to do my best to give her some hope and we’re doing our best to try to keep ourselves distracted, and obviously calling as many phone numbers as we possibly can, as many relatives as we can across Gaza, with no luck this far.

‘It’s having an impact, of course it is, and not just on my wife. I listened to my four-year-old daughter this morning pretending to phone her granny, and asking when she will come back.’

The First Minister reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire.

READ MORE: SNP leader Humza Yousaf says his wife’s parents are living through ‘torture’ in Gaza and have been left with just six bottles of clean drinking water between 100 people

Mr Yousaf said: ‘It is a desperately difficult situation for us personally but my thoughts are very much with the innocent men, women and children in Gaza who have been collectively punished intensely over the last few weeks for a crime that they did not commit and that’s why we need a ceasefire and we need one now.’

Mr Yousaf has continued to repeat his call for a ceasefire in the war-torn country and updated social media, telling his followers that his main concerns lie with the innocent.

Posting an update on X he wrote: ‘I’m afraid we have not heard from my in-laws.

‘My concern is for all the innocent people suffering for a crime they did not commit.

‘If you did not vote for peace, while children are dying, then I do not know how you sleep at night.’

He finished the post with the hashtag #CeaserfireNow.

Taking to social media on Friday night, Mr Yousaf said that telecommunications into the region had been cut, leaving them unable to know if Madia El-Nakla’s family, including her parents, are alive.

This statement was echoed by local telecoms firms as they said all internet and mobile service had gone, amid heavy bombardment on the Gaza Strip.

Mr Yousaf has continued to repeat his call for a ceasefire in the war-torn country and updated social media, telling his followers that his main concerns lie with the innocent

It comes after the huge expansion in ground operations by Israel amid ongoing bombardment targeting terror group Hamas today

Israel has been warning of an imminent ground offensive for weeks after Hamas launched a brutal surprise assault into Israeli territory on October 7. 

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Yousaf said on Friday: ‘Gaza is under intense bombing. Telecommunications have been cut. 

‘We can’t get through to our family who have been trapped in this war zone for almost 3 weeks. We can only pray they survive the night. How many more children have to die before the world says enough?’

Earlier this week he revealed that his in-laws don’t know ‘whether they are going to make it from one night to the next’.

He said on Monday that Elizabeth El-Nakla and her husband Maged – the parents of Mr Yousaf’s wife Nadia – had been left with just six bottles of drinking water between 100 people.

‘They’re really living in a situation that my mother-in-law describes as torture,’ Mr Yousaf said.

Smoke rises from the northern part of the Gaza Strip as a result of an Israeli strike, at an undisclosed location near the border with Gaza, in Israel, on October 29, 2023 

The remains of a mosque and houses destroyed by Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip on October 29, 2023

‘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.’

Nadia’s parents previously recorded what they described as a ‘final’ video message, recounting their fears that they would not survive a ground assault by the IDF.

As news of the suspected offensive broke, Mr Yousaf’s SNP Westminster leader tweeted: ‘If accurate, and a ground incursion is about to occur, it’d be inconceivable for the doors of the UK Parliament to remain shut. 

‘With UK citizens trapped in Gaza and potential for huge regional and international impact, a recall would have to take place to press for a ceasefire.’

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