Scottish First Minister’s Mother-in-law Appeals for Help in Gaza

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf. (dpa)
Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf. (dpa)
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Scottish First Minister’s Mother-in-law Appeals for Help in Gaza

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf. (dpa)
Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf. (dpa)

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf posted a video online Friday showing his mother-in-law in Gaza tearfully deploring Israel's order for residents in northern Gaza to evacuate their houses.

“This is Elizabeth El-Nakla. She is my mother-in-law... She, like the vast majority of people in Gaza, has nothing to do with Hamas. She has been told to leave Gaza but, like the rest of the population, is trapped with nowhere to go,” Yousaf posted on X platform.

"This will be my last video", al-Nakla said in a video that was published at the beginning of the Hamas-Israel war that started upon an attack by the Palestinian movement and other factions in Israel.

The retired nurse added "One million people -- no food, no water, and still, they are bombing them as they leave. Where are we going to put them? Where's humanity?"

The Israeli military called on Friday morning on all the residents of Gaza to evacuate their houses and head south in order to protect themselves.

The UN condemned this move and “Hamas” rejected it, on the seventh day of the war.

During an emotional interview with Sky News, Yousaf cried when discussing how "powerless and helpless" he felt about the situation.

He also accused the UK government of failing to help, saying he wrote to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and was "angry" and "disappointed" to receive no reply. "He was in Israel and could have picked up the phone for me," said Yousaf.

Since announcing that his wife’s family was besieged in Gaza, no communication was made with Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

In a separate interview with the BBC, the Scottish leader said that Israel was "going too far" with its response to the “Hamas” attack.

"Collective punishment cannot be justified," said Yousaf, adding that innocent people were "paying an extraordinary price for those atrocious attacks that they have nothing to do with".



Team Trump Assails Biden Decision on Missiles for Ukraine

US Representative Michael Waltz, Republican of Florida, speaks during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. (AFP)
US Representative Michael Waltz, Republican of Florida, speaks during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. (AFP)
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Team Trump Assails Biden Decision on Missiles for Ukraine

US Representative Michael Waltz, Republican of Florida, speaks during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. (AFP)
US Representative Michael Waltz, Republican of Florida, speaks during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. (AFP)

Donald Trump's allies voiced vehement criticism Monday of President Joe Biden's decision to let Ukraine use US-supplied long-range missiles for attacks inside Russia, accusing him of a dangerous escalation.

With two months left in office, lame-duck US President Biden made a major policy change that yields to a long-standing request from Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion, now in its third year.

The new policy and Biden's pledge to speed up military aid to Ukraine come as the United States prepares for Trump to take over as president in January, having questioned US assistance throughout the war.

Trump has repeatedly promised to end the war, but has not provided details of how he would do so.

With Russia gaining ground and increasing talk of negotiations, Ukraine is wary of being at a disadvantage when it comes to hashing out a peace settlement.

Moscow has pledged an "appropriate" response if the US-supplied missiles are in fact used against Russia, and Trump's team accused Biden of escalating the war for political reasons.

At a daily briefing, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller accused Russia of escalation by accepting a deployment of North Korean soldiers to fight Ukrainian forces.

Miller noted that Biden, not Trump, was still the US president -- for now.

Biden's move, however, complicates things for Trump's incoming administration.

- 'A whole new war' -

"It's another step up the escalation ladder and nobody knows where this is going," Mike Waltz, Trump's choice to be national security adviser, told Fox News.

"No one anticipated that Joe Biden would ESCALATE the war in Ukraine during the transition period. This is as if he is launching a whole new war," Richard Grenell, who was acting Director of National Intelligence during Trump's first term, wrote on X.

"Everything has changed now -- all previous calculations are null and void. And all for politics," Grenell said.

For now, Grenell does not have a job in the incoming administration but his name had come up as a possible Secretary of State before Trump finally decided to go with Senator Marco Rubio.

Also weighing in was Donald Trump Jr., who wrote on X: "The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives."

Trump himself has not spoken publicly on Biden's change of heart regarding the long-range missiles.

"He is the only person who can bring both sides together in order to negotiate peace, and work towards ending the war and stopping the killing," said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.

- Race against time -

Ahead of Trump's return to power, Biden appears to be attempting to ringfence support for Ukraine.

And as the war hits 1,000 days, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga will visit the US Congress on Tuesday seeking to drum up support.

Trump, who takes office on January 20, has said he could end the war "in 24 hours" and has questioned the more than $60 billion in military aid that the United States has given Ukraine since the war started.

"How do we get both sides to the table to end this war? What's the framework for a deal and who is sitting at that table?" said Waltz.

"Those are the things that I and President Trump, of course, will be working with."

Shortly after his election victory on November 5 over Kamala Harris, Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who called the conversation "constructive."