THE First Minister has shared a video plea from his mother-in-law in Gaza after Israel ordered more than million people to evacuate.
The parents of Humza Yousaf’s wife, Nadia El-Nakla, are currently trapped in Gaza. They were visiting relatives when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Saturday.
In a video shared by the First Minister on X/Twitter, El-Nakla’s mother Elizabeth questions the Israel Defence Forces’ demand that 1.1 million people living north of the Wadi Gaza valley move south within the next 24 hours.
The UN has called the demand “impossible” and said it should be rescinded.
“This is Elizabeth El-Nakla,” Yousaf said.
“She is my mother-in-law. A retired nurse from Dundee, Scotland.
This is Elizabeth El-Nakla. She is my mother-in-law. A retired nurse from Dundee, Scotland. She, like the vast majority of people in Gaza, has nothing to do with Hamas. She has been told to leave Gaza but, like the rest of the population, is trapped with nowhere to go. pic.twitter.com/D3ZUtnEmyO
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 13, 2023
“She, like the vast majority of people in Gaza, has nothing to do with Hamas.
“She has been told to leave Gaza but, like the rest of the population, is trapped with nowhere to go.”
In the emotional message, Elizabeth El-Nakla asked where the “humanity” was in the situation.
She said: “This will be my last video. Everybody from Gaza is moving towards where we are.
“One million people. No food. No water. And still they’re bombing them as they leave.
“Where we going to put them? My thought is: all these people in the hospital cannot be evacuated.
“Where’s humanity? Where’s peoples hearts in the world to let this happen in this day and age?
“May God help us”.
Among the first to comment on the post was former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who wrote: “My heart breaks for the people of Israel and for all the innocent civilians in Gaza who are also paying the price of Hamas’ appalling acts of terror.
“Closer to home, my thoughts are with my friends Nadia and Humza and their family, and also with Scotland’s precious Jewish community, at this unimaginably awful time.”
The video comes after Yousaf urged the international community to “step up”.
He said on Twitter: “UN has said the order to move 1.1m people in 24 hours will lead to ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’.
“The international community must step up and demand an end to collective punishment.
“Enough. There can be no justification for the death of innocent men, women & children.”
