Humza Yousaf has said the situation in Gaza is “hell on Earth” and his father-in-law has been left a “shell”, as he discussed the impact the war has had on his wife’s family.
Maged and Elizabeth El-Nakla – the parents of Mr Yousaf’s wife, city councillor Nadia El-Nakla – were visiting relatives in the Palestinian enclave when war broke out following October 7 2023.
The Dundee residents became trapped for four weeks before leaving through Egypt with other British nationals.
Speaking to the PA news agency Mr Yousaf said any prospect of his parents-in-law returning to Gaza is a “very distant dream”.
‘Hell on Earth’
One of Nadia’s cousins, Sally, fled her home in the north of Gaza to stay at Maged’s house in Deir al-Balah in the central part of the strip.
Mr Yousaf said she has not travelled back as her home has been flattened.
“So the situation is hell on Earth,” he added.
Those who fled the strip, he said, did so because they had no choice.
The former first minister said that before the latest Israel-Hamas war broke out, Maged had extended his house and purchased a mosque next door for the community.
These have been damaged in the war but are still standing.
Maged and Elizabeth described Gaza as a “beautiful place”, he said, having been removed form another part of Palestine when he was younger.
‘He’s become a shell of a man’
Mr Yousaf said: “He’s now seen the entire land become decimated – seen his mum, his son, his grandchildren all become refugees again. And is powerless to do anything about it.
“He’s become a shell of a man, he was incredibly outgoing, sociable, energetic individual.
“Since those traumatic four weeks it’s had an impact on him and my mother-in-law from which I don’t think they’ll properly recover.”
Any prospect of returning to Gaza is far from their minds and “seems like a very distant dream”, he said, due to the ongoing hardships there and the fact much of the family has now left.
Nadia’s brother, Mohammed, was working as a doctor in Gaza during the war but has now left and is working in a shawarma shop in another country, Mr Yousaf said.
People in Gaza are “the most resilient in the world” but are “worried about what the future holds”, the MSP said.
