Humza Yousaf has described the “desperate” situation his Dundee in-laws trapped in Gaza are facing as they resort to drinking seawater.
Dundee residents Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla had travelled to the Palestinian territory at the start of October to visit family.
Mr Yousaf – who is married to West End councillor Nadia El-Nakla – told reporters on Monday that he had spoken to his mother-in-law, retired nurse Elizabeth.
In an update on their situation he said they had run out of clean water and were now forced to drink salty water from the sea.
He said: “I spoke to my mother-in-law this morning. They have run out of clean water, they now have salty sea water. That’s all they have.
“They are running out of supplies and, frankly, out of hope.”
Aid agencies say the situation in the Palestine territory has become “desperate” as only limited aid is allowed to trickle in.
On Sunday, the United Nations said thousands of people had broken into warehouses to take flour and basic hygiene products.
They said they feared it was a sign civil order was breaking down.
The Gaza Health Ministry report the death toll among Palestinians has passed 8,000, of which the majority are said to be mostly women and children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is now in the “second stage” of its assault in the war ignited after an incursion by the militant group Hamas.
Mr Yousaf repeated his calls for a ceasefire, adding: “My mother-in-law cannot understand why the border is not opening. She cannot understand why there is only a trickle of aid coming through.
‘There has to be a ceasefire’
“They are in a pretty desperate situation. This is about more than my mother-in-law and father-in-law. We have 2.2 million people in Gaza, the overwhelming majority of them are innocent of any crime.
“That’s why there has to be a ceasefire to allow aid in and to allow people out.”
Around 200 British nationals are thought to be trapped in Gaza, with the foreign office advising they leave via Rafah Crossing into Egypt.
However this has been impossible for much of the conflict after Israel repeatedly bombed the Palestinian side of the border.
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