SCOTLAND is ready to take refugees from Gaza if the UK is willing to set up a scheme to resettle families fleeing the war, Humza Yousaf said.

The First Minister also said hospitals in Scotland can treat civilians injured if they are medically evacuated from Gaza where there are scarce supplies in the hospitals.

Yousaf said his brother-in-law is a doctor in a hospital in Gaza.

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He said: “When we can get through to him on the phone, he tells us of scenes of carnage.
“Hospitals running out of medical supplies, doctors and nurses having to make the most difficult decision of all.
“Who to treat and who to leave to die. This cannot be allowed to continue.”

He called on the UK Government to take action and pledged Scotland’s support.

The First Minister, whose wife, Nadia's parents are trapped in Gaza, said the international community must commit to a worldwide refugee programme for Gaza to help the one million people displaced.

He called on the UK Government to “Immediately begin work on the creation of a refugee resettlement scheme for those in Gaza who want to, and are able to, leave.
 
“And when they do so, Scotland is willing to be the first country in the UK to offer safety and sanctuary to those caught up in these terrible attacks.”

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On the medical evacuation call he said: “Let me be clear, Scotland is ready to play her part and our hospitals will treat the injured men, women and children of Gaza where we can.”
The First Minister said too many innocent men women and children are suffering.
 

On the situation unfolding in Gaza itself, Yousaf said: “We are absolutely clear that the life of a Palestinian is equal to the life of an Israeli.
 
“It is right for the world to condemn the actions of Hamas, unequivocally, adding the Israeli hostages must be released.
 
“But any form of collective punishment, as we are seeing in Gaza, can never be justified.
 
He added that 2.2m “innocent people cannot pay the price for the actions of Hamas”.