In a development that will surprise absolutely no one with a functioning conscience, Humza Yousaf - Scotland's former first minister - has penned a deeply affecting account of his in-laws' ordeal in Gaza. The book, titled *Under Fire*, recounts how Elizabeth, a retired nurse from Dundee, and her Palestinian husband Maged became trapped in Gaza when Israel's bombing campaign began in 2023, following Hamas's deadly terrorist attack on Israel.

A week into the bombing, Yousaf received a text from his mother-in-law that read: "Humza, I think we are about to die. I need you to promise me that you will take care of my girls." Nothing like a bit of light reading to remind you of the sheer, unfiltered horror of being a civilian in a war zone. Elizabeth and Maged had been visiting family in Gaza when the bombing started, and suddenly found themselves not just trapped, but hosting a growing crowd of friends and neighbours whose homes had been destroyed. Food was running out. Death was all around. The house was filling up like a grim, involuntary bed-and-breakfast.

On the night of that text, they were told to evacuate their neighbourhood of Deir al-Balah ahead of a fresh wave of Israeli strikes. They later learned the evacuation order was a false alarm - because nothing says "we take civilian safety seriously" like a bit of administrative chaos in the middle of a bombing campaign. Yousaf reflects that "in the four weeks from hell, this felt like the lowest point." A sentiment that surely resonates with anyone who has ever been told to flee their home only to find out it was a clerical error.

The book also covers the tragedy of those who weren't so lucky - because while Elizabeth and Maged eventually made it out, many others didn't. Yousaf's account is a deeply affecting story of being stranded in Gaza, and a reminder that behind every geopolitical headline, there are real people getting text messages from their mothers-in-law that no one should ever have to send.