The wife of Scottish Government leader Hamza Youssef has said she feels like she is living a nightmare as her parents are ‘terrified’ of what will happen next after being trapped in Gaza.
In an interview with the British broadcaster BBC, Palestinian-born Nadia al-Naklah said that her parents, Elizabeth and Majid al-Naklah, were constantly telling her that ‘they think they are going to die.’
Her parents arrived in Gaza last week to visit an elderly relative and Nadia’s brother, who serves as a doctor in the Palestinian Strip.
They have been trapped in Gaza since militants infiltrated Israeli territory and fired thousands of rockets during a new operation launched by the militant group Hamas on Saturday morning.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said his country was in a ‘state of war’ as its army responded by launching attacks on targets in Gaza.
At least 2,300 people have already been killed on both sides in the war.
In a video clip played during the interview, Elizabeth al-Naklah said: ‘There’s no electricity, we don’t have water, the food we have left is very little, it won’t last long because there’s no electricity and it’s bad. will be done.
An emotional Nadia Al-Naklah told the BBC it was ‘incredibly difficult now’.
He said: ‘There has been no electricity since two o’clock in the afternoon according to their (Gaza) time and it has only been a few hours. No electricity means no supply even in hospitals, it also means shortage of food, you can’t preserve the food you have for long.’
According to her: ‘I don’t know what such a situation means in the long run. I don’t know what is going to happen to them. My first priority for me is the safety of my family.’
Nadia said her parents are now talking about conserving their phone batteries due to the unavailability of electricity, which means they have to limit contact.
She added: ‘Every few hours I’m checking the situation and I’m calling my parents. But now we are talking about saving their phone battery. We cannot talk to them because there is no electricity.’
Scotland’s First Minister Hamza Youssef speaks during a lecture on the climate crisis at The Signet Library in Edinburgh on August 24, 2023.(AFP)
He added: ‘We have also taken the neighbours’ telephone numbers. He also wrote all our numbers. If I can’t contact them, can I contact a neighbor to find out if they are still alive? This is the conversation we need. Sometimes my arms feel lifeless.’
“It feels like I’m having a nightmare,” Nadia added. I can’t understand how they (my parents) are feeling.’
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Nadia’s husband, Hamza Yusuf, wrote to British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley urging him to demand that Israel open a humanitarian corridor (to Gaza).
He said: ‘I am writing on Saturday about the horrific attacks by Hamas and the escalating conflict in Israel and Gaza. Many innocent people have already lost their lives as a result of Hamas’ unjustified and illegal attacks. However, innocent men, women and children (in Gaza) cannot and should not pay the price for the actions of a terrorist group. Collective punishment of innocent citizens cannot be justified and will not help in establishing peace in the region.’
Pakistani-born Hamza Yusuf added: ‘As a close friend and ally of Israel, I call on the UK government to demand that the Israeli government ensure the safety of innocent civilians and allow civilians to cross the Rafah border. Immediate ceasefire to allow safe passage.’
“Furthermore, it (Israel) should open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to allow the delivery of food, fuel, water and medical supplies to civilians who are trapped, helpless and unable to leave. Can.’
