Family members of Humza Yousaf, Scotland's first minister, are trapped in Gaza, and he fears they might not "make it through the night."
The parents of Nadia El-Nakla, Yousaf's Palestinian wife, were visiting family in Gaza when the war broke over the weekend.
"As many will know, my wife is Palestinian, her mum and dad, my in-laws, who live in Dundee, live in Scotland, they've been in Gaza and are currently trapped in Gaza, I'm afraid," Yousaf told reporters Monday, The Independent reported.
Yousaf issued an "unequivocal condemnation" of the Hamas terror group and its terrorist attacks on Israel, but said innocent civilians are in danger in Gaza, too.
"Despite the best efforts of the British Foreign Office, nobody, nobody can guarantee them safe passage anywhere," Yousaf said. "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."
For now, Yousaf said he will wait by the phone with his wife.
"We cannot sleep — we are constantly watching our phones," he said. "When our messages do get through, we're waiting for a reply.
"I'm worried about my family — there will be many people, including in Scotland's Jewish community, for example, who will be really worried about their family in Israel that have come to harm.
"My thoughts go out to everybody, because innocent civilians have nothing to do with the conflict, they have nothing to do with Hamas terror, have nothing to do with the loss of life and they're the ones often — innocent people — who are paying the price."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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