LONDON (Reuters) – The parents of the wife of Scotland’s leader are on a list to be evacuated from Gaza on Friday after being trapped in the besieged Palestinian territory since Hamas militants attacked Israel last month.
The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt was opened for limited evacuations for a second day on Thursday under a Qatari-brokered deal aimed at letting some foreign passport holders, their dependents and some wounded Gazans out of the enclave.
A list of approved evacuees posted online by the Rafah border crossings authority included Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, the parents of the wife of Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Yousaf, 38, has said his wife’s parents were trapped in Gaza as they were visiting family when Hamas attacked Israel last month. Israel has bombed the enclave daily since then, killing more than 9,000 Palestinians as a humanitarian crisis unfolds.
He told Reuters last month that the couple were fast running out of food and drinking water and could die if they were not able to leave soon.
A spokesperson for Yousaf had no immediate comment on their inclusion on Friday’s list of evacuees.
The first group of British nationals left Gaza on Wednesday, with the British Foreign Office saying it would provide transport to a reception centre in Cairo and help arranging onward travel via commercial flights.
Israel has vowed to annihilate the command structure of Hamas and has told civilians to flee to the south to avoid its assault.
Yousaf, who heads the devolved government in Scotland, is among the British politicians to call for a ceasefire in Gaza to allow a humanitarian corridor to open.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has backed short pauses in fighting to allow aid in but has rejected such called for a full ceasefire.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
