FORMER Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf said today that his family in Gaza are facing a “hell on Earth” and his father-in-law has been left a “shell” by Israel’s attack.

The parents of Mr Yousaf’s wife Nadia — Maged and Elizabeth El-Nakla — had been visiting relatives in Gaza when the invasion began, trapped for four weeks as Israeli bombs fell.

They managed to escape through Egypt, but Sally — a cousin of Nadia — remained, fleeing her home in the north to Maged’s house in Deir al-Balah in the central part of the strip.

Mr Yousaf said: “She has not travelled back to the north because she has already been told her house has been completely flattened and turned to rubble.

“So what is the point of making the arduous journey back with four children only to return to rubble and dust?

“So the situation is hell on Earth.”

Maged, himself a refugee from elsewhere in Palestine, had once described Gaza as a “beautiful place.” 

But Mr Yousaf said: “He’s now seen the entire land become decimated — seen his mum, his son, his grandchildren all become refugees again. And is powerless to do anything about it.

“He’s become a shell of a man, he was an incredibly outgoing, sociable, energetic individual.

“Since those traumatic four weeks it’s had an impact on him and my mother-in-law from which I don’t think they’ll properly recover.”

He called for Israel to be held accountable for the slaughter and for Britain to end its complicity.

The former SNP leader also had a warning for President Donald Trump, who recently threatened to occupy Gaza.

He said: “People in Gaza will make it abundantly clear, that whoever threatens to take their land they will resist.

“They won’t give up their land regardless of how many US tax dollars are thrown at them.”