The parents-in-law of Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, are stuck in Gaza, he has said, as the BBC reported more than 10 Britons are feared dead or missing after renewed violence between Hamas and Israel.
Yousaf, whose wife, Nadia El-Nakla, is of Palestinian descent, said he did not know whether her parents, who live in Dundee, would “make it through the night” after they were trapped while visiting family in Gaza.
They have been told by Israeli authorities to leave because “Gaza will effectively be obliterated”, Yousaf said. “Despite the best efforts of the British Foreign Office, nobody, nobody can guarantee them safe passage anywhere.
“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,” said a visibly emotional Yousaf, who also issued an “unequivocal condemnation” of the Hamas attack.
The BBC has reported that more than 10 Britons are feared dead or missing, citing an official source.
Nathanel Young, a 20-year-old Briton serving in the Israel Defence Forces, died on the Gaza border on Saturday. Young, a former pupil at JFS, a Jewish school in north London, moved to Israel two years ago.
His sister, Gaby Shalev, wrote on social media: “We’re heartbroken to share that our little brother Nathanel Young was tragically killed on the Gaza border.” His brother, Eliot Young, told the BBC: “Nathanel was full of life and the life of the party. He loved his family and friends and was loved by everyone.”
Jake Marlowe, a 26-year-old from London who is missing, was providing security at the Supernova festival at Re’im near the Gaza Strip and has not been heard from since Saturday morning. Marlowe is also a former pupil at JFS and moved to Israel in November 2021.
He called his mother, Lisa, at 4.30am on Saturday saying rockets were flying over. She told the Jewish News: “Then, at about 5.30am he texted to say ‘signal very bad, everything OK, will keep you updated I promise you’, and that he loves me.” Since then she has been unable to contact him.
Daniel Aboudy, a lifelong friend, told the Jewish Chronicle that Marlowe, an Arsenal fan and metal musician who was living in Ma’alot in north Israel, studied music at college and went on to become a drummer and bass guitarist. More recently he worked as a carpenter and made extra money working in events security.
Aboudy said he received a WhatsApp voice note recorded by his friend early on Saturday saying he was trying to get festivalgoers to safety. The voice note was “very brief”, and was recorded at about 9am local time. “It was saying: ‘Things are going on around Gaza, they’re coming in from there, we’re trying to evacuate everyone, I’m on an ATV [a quad bike] and we are telling everyone to get out.’”
Aboudy said Marlowe moved to Israel to learn about his roots and after observing a rise in antisemitism in the UK. “Jake was happy living his life the way it was, it was simple, he was seeking out adventure,” he said. “He was a massive fan of Israel, he was thriving there and living his best life.”
Bernard Cowan, 57, from Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, was also killed in the Hamas attack, according to posts on social media.
The BBC reported Cowan grew up in the Glasgow area and settled in Israel where he lived with his wife and three children.
In a statement, his family said: “We are grieving the loss of our son and brother, Bernard Cowan, who was horrifically murdered on Saturday during the surprise terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas.
“We ask for privacy at this time while we process this huge loss to our family, both at home and in Israel, and to the Jewish community in Glasgow where he will be sorely missed.”
His brother, Colin Cowan, said on Facebook: “Yesterday my brother was murdered by the terrorist Hamas. He was the kindest, most generous person you would ever meet, and would go out of his way to help others. We are all heartbroken.”
Danny Darlington, a 26-year-old photographer from London, was visiting Israel with his friend Carolin Bohl. Darlington and Bohl, who live in Berlin, were last heard from when hiding in a bunker in Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel, according to reports.
On Instagram, Bohl’s sister said the family learned the news of their death from a friend in Israel, it was reported. She wrote: “Today we learned from Carolin’s friend on the ground in Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel that she and her friend Danny were killed in a terrorist attack yesterday. We are broken and are working to cope with this unimaginable tragedy.”
