Humza Yousaf's Under Fire Recounts a Month of Waiting for Family Trapped in Gaza

Humza Yousaf has written a book about the month his in-laws spent trapped in Gaza, and the Guardian has reviewed it. The book is called Under Fire. It describes the experience of Yousaf and his wife, Nadia El-Nakla, while her parents were stuck in the territory.

Yousaf was Scotland's first minister when the bombing began in 2023. His mother-in-law, Elizabeth, is a retired nurse from Dundee. Her husband, Maged, is Palestinian. The couple were visiting family in Gaza when the bombing started and could not leave.

According to the Guardian's review, the couple travelled to Rafah, the crossing on the border with Egypt, more than once. Each time they were turned away.

The book also turns its attention to British politics. Yousaf criticises James Cleverly, who was then foreign secretary, for not picking up the phone to him at first after he spoke publicly about his in-laws being stranded. He also criticises Rishi Sunak, then prime minister, for failing to give updates to worried British citizens with relatives in Gaza.

The Guardian's reviewer notes that the title has two meanings. It refers to the ordeal of Palestinians in Gaza, who lived under fire. It also refers to the scrutiny and criticism that the author directs at the people he holds to account.

The Guardian's review carries the headline "deeply affecting." The Scotsman has also published a review, by Joyce McMillan, which uses the word "gripping" in its headline. Both papers are reviewing a personal account that sits where family life meets government decision-making.

For readers who followed the story at the time, the book offers a view from inside a family waiting for news. For everyone else, it is a reminder of how many people were left to wait on the other side of a closed border.