Humza Yousaf says ‘no justification’ for death of innocent people in Gaza

The First Minister has called for an end to deaths in Gaza and for the international community to “step up”, amid orders for more than one million Palestinians to evacuate.

Humza Yousaf condemned reports from the United Nations that 1.1 million Palestinians were ordered to vacate northern Gaza within 24 hours, by the Israeli military.

The region subject to the order includes Gaza’s biggest hospital, which Human Rights Watch has said is dealing with more than 6,000 casualties, and two major refugee camps.

This is Elizabeth El-Nakla. She is my mother-in-law. A retired nurse from Dundee, Scotland. She, like the vast majority of people in Gaza, has nothing to do with Hamas. She has been told to leave Gaza but, like the rest of the population, is trapped with nowhere to go. pic.twitter.com/D3ZUtnEmyO
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 13, 2023

The UN described the military order as “devastating”.

Yousaf’s in-laws are trapped in Gaza, and his wife Nadia El-Nakla has spoken of her torment at the prospect of her relatives living in a refugee camp with no food or water.

First Minister's wife 'feared family had died' after watching bombs hit Gaza

Politics

First Minister’s wife ‘feared family had died’ after watching bombs hit Gaza

Nadia El-Nakla’s parents are ‘trapped’ in Gaza as Israeli officials declared a ‘siege’.

Yousaf said there was “no justification for the death of innocent men, women and children”.

Posting on Twitter, formerly known as X, he said: “UN has said the order to move 1.1m people in 24 hours will lead to ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’.

“The international community must step up and demand an end to collective punishment.

“Enough. There can be no justification for the death of innocent men, women and children.”