Latest news with #NadiaEl-Nakla
STV News
05-08-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Humza Yousaf and Nadia El-Nakla say family in Gaza 'waiting to die'
Humza Yousaf and Nadia El-Nakla have said their family in the Gaza Strip feels like 'they're waiting to die'. Speaking to STV News on Tuesday, the former first minister and his wife said they feel angry and 'unbelievably helpless' as relatives starve in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Just last week, they said councillor El-Nakla's father's cousin was shot in the street. Some family members have managed to escape Gaza. But El-Nakla's cousin Sally, her husband, and their four children remain stuck. STV News Humza Yousaf and Nadia El-Nakla 'She feels like they're going to die, and they're just desperate to leave,' El-Nakla told STV News. 'She's begging me if there's anything we can do to leave. It's heartbreaking, it's unimaginable, and yet we're watching it. 'I send Sally a voice note through Instagram pretty much every day, but it's really hard because what they want to hear is that we can get you out, and I can't. And there are no words of comfort to fill their stomach.' Supplied Nadia El-Nakla's cousin Sally, her husband, and their four children remain stuck in Gaza, El-Nakla said that her dad's 44-year-old cousin was shot in the stomach and run over by a tank last week when he went out to get flour and food for his family. 'That's been really devastating. He was one of my dad's closest cousins,' El-Nakla said. 'He's got two young kids. He didn't need to die. There was no reason he got killed in the street trying to get food for his family. You wouldn't treat an animal that way. It's difficult to comprehend.' Scottish Government First Minister John Swinney John Swinney described the ongoing crisis in Gaza as a 'genocide' for the first time over the weekend after a Fringe show he appeared at was repeatedly disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. Yousaf said the First Minister is 'doing what he can' to raise awareness of the situation and put pressure on the Prime Minister, but he said 'calling it a genocide is the least any leader can do'. Yousaf said what the situation needs is 'meaningful action' from the UK and other governments. 'We need them to impose sanctions on Israel, we need them to stop selling arms and weapons to Israel, and they need to make sure Israel is isolated in the same way that apartheid South Africa was a number of years ago. That's the only way Israel will change its stance,' Yousaf said. In recent weeks, more than 100 aid agencies have warned that 'mass starvation' is spreading across Gaza as Israel is accused of not allowing enough food and other supplies into the area. Dozens of Palestinians were killed or wounded on Monday as desperate crowds headed toward food distribution points and airdropped parcels in the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses and local health officials. Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since May while heading toward food distribution sites and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office. 'People are slowly being killed,' Yousaf said. 'They know today is worse than yesterday, and they fear that tomorrow will be even worse than today. Every day is progressively getting even worse.' The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) says it has only fired warning shots and disputes the death toll. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would convene his Security Cabinet in the coming days to direct the army on the next stage of the war, hinting that even tougher military action was an option in Gaza. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Record
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Yousaf and wife appeal to Starmer 'as a father' to stop Gaza tragedy
SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: The former First Minister and his wife Nadia El-Nakla said the situation has become a "live-streamed genocide". Former first minister Humza Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla have appealed to Keir Starmer 'as a father' to take action to end a 'live-streamed genocide'. In a joint statement to the Sunday Mail, the couple – who have close relatives in Gaza – implored the Prime Minister to immediately end all arms sales to Israel as well as imposing economic and trade sanctions. They said: 'We appeal to Keir Starmer, not merely as Prime Minister, but as a father. Imagine it was your children starving and you couldn't even find grass to feed them. 'Your legacy will be defined by how you respond to this genocide. We implore you, be on the right side of history, do everything in your power to ensure the children of Gaza have the chance to live. 'What red line has Israel not crossed? 'Children have been massacred, healthcare workers executed and buried in mass graves, journalists targeted and killed, hospitals, UN facilities, refugee camps, schools – destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. 'And now the mass, deliberate starvation of almost two million people in the world's first live-streamed genocide. 'We don't need statements of condemnation from prime ministers and presidents. Words will not feed the children of Gaza. 'What we need from every world leader is pressure exerted on Israel so they change course. 'That is what the international community did to the apartheid regime in South Africa and that is what is needed in order to deal with Netanyahu's genocidal government. 'As well as ending arms sales, the UK must impose economic and trade sanctions on Israel and recognise the state of Palestine, as France says it will do. 'Only if Israel feels the pressure of being isolated from the international community, will they consider opening the borders and allowing aid to flow into Gaza. 'You don't have to be an expert in the geopolitics of the Middle East to say that the deliberate starvation of children, women and men simply cannot be justified. 'The images emanating from Gaza should haunt us all. 'More than that, they should precipitate urgent action from our world leaders, who are, at best, impotently inactive, at worst they are complicit in the suffering we are witnessing. 'The Prime Minister has this week described the scenes from Gaza as 'indefensible'. Yet, astonishingly, the UK continues to sell weapons to Israel, a regime headed by a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, including using starvation as a weapon of war.'
Daily Record
24-07-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Former First Minister's in-laws in Gaza 'can't even find grass or leaves to eat'
Dundee councillor Nadia El-Nakla, the wife of Humza Yousaf, said it was 'traumatising' to watch her relatives go through a 'living nightmare'. The wife of former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf has said the lives of her family in Gaza are 'hanging in the balance' as she accused Israel of starving two million people in the Strip. Nadia El-Nakla said her family could not even find grass, leaves or any animals to eat, amid an Israeli blockade on the amount of food and supplies going into the region. The Dundee councillor said it was 'traumatising' to watch her relatives go through a 'living nightmare'. She described the territory as 'hell on earth'. Asked on BBC Scotland's Drivetime programme if she thought she would ever get back to Gaza to see her family again, she said: 'I think Gaza is gone – I don't think Gaza will exist any more. 'The situation is just incredibly difficult, heartbreaking, traumatising for us to watch, and for them their life is now hanging in the balance.' She said her cousin Sally, a mother of four, has been moved to different tents 15 times after her house was destroyed. 'She has no food,' Ms El-Nakla said. 'She had a loaf of bread the other day that she was trying to save for her children. My other cousin told her, 'look, just eat grass, eat leaves, eat plants', and she said 'we can't even find them'. 'There's no cash either, so even if I sent her £1,000, she can't access that money, and there's no way for her to buy anything. So it's just a living nightmare – it's hell on earth.' She added: 'It's just, it's so devastating because her husband is going out every day, and they're so scared that he'll not come back because of the bombing, to try and find food, and he can't find any.' She said that even for those who can access money, the price of a kilo of sugar is about 200 dollars (£148), making it inaccessible for most. She urged world leaders to do more to force Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, amid warnings from aid agencies about mass starvation. Speaking about her cousin Sally, she said: 'She sent me a voicenote saying 'I hate the world – no-one is coming to help us', and I could hear her children in the background. 'That's what breaks my heart the most, is they know that no-one's coming to help them, and to have your child hungry, to be hungry yourself, how that feels to have hunger, and how you're supposed to look after your kids, and they're crying to you because they're hungry – like I say, it's a living nightmare.' She added: 'Now nothing exists. It's bare survival. 'They feel that they're all going to die and we're all watching them through the process of being terrified for their lives from bombs, from being shot at and having to run, which I've had calls with her where she's like, 'I can hear the gunfire', and she's having to run, and then now calls that there's no food there. 'It's a silent killer. They're killing them so slowly and quietly, but they're killing them at every single point. And it's just devastating to watch. It's heartbreaking. It's sickening.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Ms El-Nakla said she feels 'physically sick' hearing about her family's situation in Gaza, adding that she feels 'completely inadequate as a cousin, as a human being, that I can't do anything'. She said she was angry with the UK Government, which she said 'isn't doing anything' to 'try to stop the genocide'. She said aid must urgently be allowed in to stop the 'catastrophic starvation of two million people'. "We are living in a dystopia where we are just watching two million people slowly die,' she said. 'For our own humanity, how can we live with that? Our Government has to do something.' The UK Government and Israeli embassy in London have been approached
Scotsman
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Humza Yousaf's wife El-Nakla: My family in Gaza can't even find grass or leaves to eat
Wife of former first minister says lives of her relatives are 'hanging in the balance' Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The wife of former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf has said the lives of her family in Gaza are 'hanging in the balance' as she accused Israel of starving two million people in the Strip. Nadia El-Nakla said her family could not even find grass, leaves or any animals to eat, amid an Israeli blockade on the amount of food and supplies going into the region. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Dundee councillor said it was 'traumatising' to watch her relatives go through a 'living nightmare'. She described the territory as 'hell on earth'. Former first minster Humza Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla at an SNP conference in Aberdeen. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images Asked on BBC Scotland's Drivetime programme if she thought she would ever get back to Gaza to see her family again, she said: 'I think Gaza is gone – I don't think Gaza will exist any more. 'The situation is just incredibly difficult, heartbreaking, traumatising for us to watch, and for them their life is now hanging in the balance.' She said her cousin Sally, a mother of four, has been moved to different tents 15 times after her house was destroyed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'She has no food,' Ms El-Nakla said. 'She had a loaf of bread the other day that she was trying to save for her children. 'My other cousin told her, 'look, just eat grass, eat leaves, eat plants', and she said 'we can't even find them'. 'There's no cash either, so even if I sent her £1,000, she can't access that money, and there's no way for her to buy anything. So it's just a living nightmare – it's hell on earth.' She added: 'It's just, it's so devastating because her husband is going out every day, and they're so scared that he'll not come back because of the bombing, to try and find food, and he can't find any.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said that even for those who can access money, the price of a kilo of sugar is about 200 dollars (£148), making it inaccessible for most. Mass starvation warnings She urged world leaders to do more to force Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, amid warnings from aid agencies about mass starvation. Speaking about her cousin Sally, she said: 'She sent me a voicenote saying 'I hate the world – no-one is coming to help us', and I could hear her children in the background. 'That's what breaks my heart the most, is they know that no-one's coming to help them, and to have your child hungry, to be hungry yourself, how that feels to have hunger, and how you're supposed to look after your kids, and they're crying to you because they're hungry – like I say, it's a living nightmare.' She added: 'Now nothing exists. It's bare survival. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'They feel that they're all going to die and we're all watching them through the process of being terrified for their lives from bombs, from being shot at and having to run, which I've had calls with her where she's like, 'I can hear the gunfire', and she's having to run, and then now calls that there's no food there. 'It's a silent killer. They're killing them so slowly and quietly, but they're killing them at every single point. 'And it's just devastating to watch. It's heartbreaking. It's sickening.' Ms El-Nakla said she feels 'physically sick' hearing about her family's situation in Gaza, adding that she feels 'completely inadequate as a cousin, as a human being, that I can't do anything'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said she was angry with the UK Government, which she said 'isn't doing anything' to 'try to stop the genocide'. She said aid must urgently be allowed in to stop the 'catastrophic starvation of two million people'. 'We are living in a dystopia where we are just watching two million people slowly die,' she said. 'For our own humanity, how can we live with that? Our Government has to do something.'
Wales Online
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Exhibition of Palestinian dress and embroidery to open
Exhibition of Palestinian dress and embroidery to open Thread Memory: Embroidery From Palestine brings together more than 30 historical dresses, alongside veils, head-dresses, jewellery, accessories and archival photographs. (Image: Photo by) An exhibition of Palestinian dress and embroidery is set to open at V&A Dundee, as the city marks 45 years since it was twinned with Nablus in the West Bank. Thread Memory: Embroidery From Palestine brings together more than 30 historical dresses, alongside veils, head-dresses, jewellery, accessories and archival photographs. The exhibition explores the ways tatreez – an ancient practice of elaborate hand-embroidery – has shaped and expressed Palestinian national identity since the late 19th century and evolved into a form of resistance and solidarity. It also showcases the regional variations in dressmaking and embroidery across Palestine, with the cut, colour, textiles, stitches and motifs on Palestinian women's dress being both a highly skilled craft and a language which reveals who the wearer is and where they are from. Leonie Bell, director of V&A Dundee, said: "Thread Memory: Embroidery From Palestine is an exhibition that through research, collections and partnership explores the traditions and material culture of Palestinian dress and the vast range of regional styles that tell important stories about the lives of the women who made, adapted and wore these dresses, jewellery, head-dresses and accessories. "The exhibition also explores the 45-year-old connection between Dundee and Nablus, a twinning relationship that has brought these two cities together, and it celebrates contemporary Palestinian design and creativity from Dundee, Scotland and across the UK." Article continues below The exhibition includes "spectacular" historical dresses from villages in Gaza – including one that was damaged in the bombing of the Rafah Museum in 2023. It also features the dress worn by Dundee councillor Nadia El-Nakla at the swearing-in ceremony of her husband, former first minister Humza Yousaf. Ms El-Nakla said she is "delighted" to welcome the exhibition to V&A Dundee. "Design and culture are peaceful and powerful forms of resistance and solidarity," she said. "Palestinian fashion and dress express ideas about who we have been, who we are and the lives we want to live in peace and with dignity. "This exhibition is opening at a time of extreme pain and suffering. It's bringing design from Palestine to life and tells the stories of women's lives in Palestine. Article continues below "I am proud that my dress, or thobe, that I wore at the Scottish Parliament is there as an expression of my Scottish-Palestinian identity, and as a symbol of solidarity, hope and peace." The exhibition was developed in partnership with the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit in the West Bank, drawing on local expertise and objects from Palestine, as well as with Art Jameel and the V&A. Thread Memory: Embroidery From Palestine is free and on show at V&A Dundee from Thursday until spring 2026.
