Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Humza Yousaf’s in-laws escape war-torn Gaza after ‘living nightmare’

Maged and Elizabeth El-Nakla, parents of Dundee councillor Nadia El-Nakla, were trapped for weeks.

Mr Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla. Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire.
Mr Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla. Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire.

Humza Yousaf’s parents-in-law have made it out of Gaza after weeks of hell.

Maged and Elizabeth El-Nakla, who both stay in Dundee, were trapped with family while Israel bombards the Palestinian territory.

The couple, parents of SNP Dundee councillor Nadia El-Nakla, had travelled to Gaza before the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted.

They were offered fresh hope of an escape after their names were included on a list of people who will be allowed to cross into Egypt.

‘Living nightmare’

On Friday morning, daughter Nadia and Mr Yousaf said in a joint statement: “These last four weeks have been a living nightmare for our family, we are so thankful for all of the messages of comfort and prayers that we have received from across the world, and indeed from across the political spectrum in Scotland and the UK.

“Although we feel a sense of deep personal relief, we are heartbroken at the continued suffering of the people of Gaza.

“We will continue to raise our voices to stop the killing and suffering of the innocent people of Gaza.”

Humza Yousaf’s in-laws may finally be able to escape Gaza.

They called again for “all sides” to agree a ceasefire and to open a humanitarian corridor for aid and fuel, and for all hostages to be released.

“Families in Gaza and Israel are suffering after the loss of entirely innocent men, women and children,” they continued.

“We pray for them all, and pray that the international community at last focuses on achieving a lasting peace in the region: one that recognises that the rights and lives of Palestinians and Israelis are equal.”

Nadia El-Nakla’s parents made it out but she still has family in Gaza, including her brother and gran who are Palestinian citizens.

Ran out of water

The pair endured a nightmare ordeal and were left without fresh drinking water after Israel cut off supplies to Gaza.

The first minister said they had been forced into drinking seawater in order to survive.

For weeks Mr Yousaf has been calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to minimise civilian deaths.

The couple’s daughter made a desperate plea for their safety at the SNP conference in Aberdeen last month.

Ms El-Nakla’s father is originally from Palestine, and her brother who lives there has been working as a doctor while casualties grow.

Nadia El-Nakla’s sister Sara, Nadia, mum Elizabeth, brother Ramsay, dad Maged and brother Naal (from left to right). Image: Nadia El-Nakla.

Two weeks ago Ms El-Nakla’s mother Elizabeth, a retired nurse, shared her goodbyes after members of her family were hit by a rocket blast.

Beforehand she made a heartfelt plea for humanity to prevail in a tearful video, which was shared by Mr Yousaf.

Around 200 British nationals are thought to be trapped in Gaza. The UK foreign office advised citizens to leave at the Rafah Crossing on the southern border with Egypt.

However, this has been impossible for much of the conflict as Israel repeatedly bombed the Palestinian side of the border.

On Thursday morning, Mr Yousaf announced £250,000 to help displaced Palestinians access food, water and medical supplies.

It takes the Scottish Government’s total funding to assist the relief efforts to £750,000, benefiting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) flash appeal.

Conversation