Humza Yousaf’s mother-in-law phoned the family in a panic this morning, to say her goodbyes after being told the neighbourhood she was in was being targeted.
The First Minister also repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to allow people to flee from the imminent Israel incursion.
Speaking to the BBC from Aberdeen ahead of the SNP conference, he said that it had been a “very difficult night” and that his mother-in-law, Elizabeth El-Nakla, who is currently trapped in the enclave, had phoned them in a “panic” at 1am.
The retired nurse from Dundee, and her husband Maged had travelled to the south of Gaza last week to visit a sick relative.
They are now trapped in the war zone with no way out.
READ MORE: Yousaf mother-in-law's plea ahead of 'impossible' Gaza evacuation
She said there had been an alarm, with the street told to evacuate “because the house is going to get hit.”
“So everybody in that neighbourhood — it would have been three in the morning in Gaza — was running to goodness and God knows where because nowhere seems safe in Gaza at all.
“It ended up being a false alarm, but you can imagine the panic, and my mother-in-law was even saying her goodbyes, which was really hard to hear.
“Now, it turned out to be a false alarm, which I'm pleased to say. They're safe for now, still trapped in Gaza, so only as safe as you can be in the midst of a warzone.”
He said there has to be a “humanitarian corridor that allows supplies in and allows innocent people to leave.”
“This is entirely avoidable, this is not a natural disaster, this is a man-made humanitarian catastrophe that's taking place,” he added.
READ MORE: Green MSP Maggie Chapman deletes controversial Gaza tweet
Mr Yousaf also said he would back a programme that would allow Palestinians and Israelis to flee to the UK.
He added: “There’s many people who are worried about their relatives – Jewish, Muslim, Christian, atheist, agnostic – whether it’s those that are captured by Hamas or whether it’s those like my own family in Gaza.”
The First Minister added: “I think anybody who's reasonably minded would accept that after the barbaric terrorism we saw a week past Saturday, that of course, Israel has a right to protect itself.
“But that cannot come at the price of 2.2 million innocent men, women and children. It cannot justify cutting off water, food, fuel supplies.
“I spoke to my mother-in-law yesterday. The whole day, she hadn't eaten or she had one egg, I think she told me.
“She had virtually just a couple of sips of water because they have dozens of people now in their house and they have little drinking water.
“And if that is true of my in-laws, who by Gaza standards have money, then what on earth is the plight for those who are suffering the greatest?”
Speaking to Sky, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Hamas wants to turn the conflict into a “war between the Muslim world and the wider world.”
He also urged Israel to show restraint and discipline.
He told Sunday With Trevor Phillips: “Friends speak honestly with friends and we have a very, very good working relationship with the Israeli government and whenever I have spoken to them I have reinforced the UK’s position about the preservation of life, the avoidance of civilian casualties.
“I know the Israelis completely understand that, President Herzog has said their operations will be in accordance with international law.
“I have said it’s in Israel’s interest to avoid civilian casualties and Palestinian casualties because Hamas clearly wants to turn this into a wider Arab-Israeli war or indeed a war between the Muslim world and the wider world and none of us, including Israel, want that to be the case and so that’s why we do give that strong advice from a position of friendship.”
He added: “I’ve said that restraint, discipline these are the hallmarks of the Israel Defence Force that I want to see and indeed those are the hallmarks of a high-functioning military organisation, which the IDF is – in stark contrast to the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.
“Israel seeks to avoid civilian casualties, Hamas seeks civilians in order to target.”
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