Humza Yousaf's in-laws could be on the verge of returning home after their names appeared on a list of people allowed to leave the war-torn Gaza strip today.
Elizabeth & Maged El-Nakla, who were visiting family before the October 7 Massacre in Israel sparked the current conflict, have been trapped in the Palestinian territory and unable to leave.
Their names have now appeared on a list of people allowed through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, which opened earlier this week to allow a limited number of foreign nationals and injured Gazans through.
The list, published overnight by the Palestinian Border Authority, said those named on it must be “present at 7am in the outdoor halls of the crossing to facilitate their travel”.
READ MORE: First Minister in border plea as attacks on Gaza intensify
It is understood that the First Minister and his wife Nadia have been informed of the breakthrough.
He previously told how his mother-in-law, a retired nurse from Dundee, had given up hope of escaping the conflict.
Mr Yousaf said: “They’re really living in a situation that my mother-in-law describes as torture.
“The whole night there will be missiles, rocket fire, drones – they don’t know whether they are going to make it from one night to the next."
READ MORE: Family in Gaza reduced to drinking seawater
The First Minister has called for a ceasefire between Isreal and Hamas to allow Huamitarian aid to be sent to the warzone.
More than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, and another 1,400 people have died in Israel, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’s initial attack. More than 200 hostages taken during the raid in October, including women and children, remain missing.
Around 800 people have left throug h the Rafah crossing during the past two days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously ruled out a ceasefire, and said on Thursday: “We are advancing… Nothing will stop us.” He vowed to destroy Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.
More than 3,700 Palestinian children have been killed in 25 days of fighting, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
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