Yousaf: My doctor brother-in-law is refusing to rest after seven straight days

He reportedly told the First Minister, ‘I can’t leave my people when they need me’.

Humza Yousaf has spoken of his brother-in-law’s determination to keep on working (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)

Humza Yousaf’s brother-in-law has refused to leave his post as a doctor in Gaza because people “need me”.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Scottish First Minister shared a video of bloodied children being treated by medical personnel.

In a message, Mr Yousaf said his wife, Nadia El-Nakla, had implored her brother to go home and rest after working for seven consecutive days.

The First Minister wrote: “My brother-in-law, a doctor in Gaza, is spending his seventh consecutive day in hospital.

“Nadia spoke to him & said he should go home to rest, his response: ‘I can’t leave my people when they need me’.

“Health workers in Gaza are heroes.”

It comes after Mr Yousaf told broadcasters last week his brother-in-law had been forced to decide who to treat due to a lack of medical supplies.

Mr Yousaf and Ms El-Nakla have spoken at length about their fears for family in the region.

Ms El-Nakla’s parents, Elizabeth and Maged, visited family in Gaza in the week before the Hamas attack on Israel which prompted reprisals.

On Wednesday, SNP MP Chris Law told the House of Commons that Elizabeth El-Nakla had said her final goodbyes in a call with her daughter and the First Minister that morning.

According to the MP, she said: “Last night was the end for me, better if my heart stops and then I will be at peace, I can’t take another night.”

Mr Yousaf also used his first address to the SNP conference as leader this week to call for the UK Government to set up a refugee resettlement scheme for those seeking to flee Gaza, stating that Scotland could be the first place to take people in.