Under Fire

When Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf, got a call from Gaza on the morning of 7 October 2023, he feared the worst. His wife’s parents, Elizabeth and Maged, had been visiting the Palestinian territory to see Maged’s sick Palestinian mother. Now, after the Hamas terrorist attack, they were caught in Israel’s furious onslaught.

Under Fire tells the story of Yousaf’s month-long nightmare as he tried desperately to get his in-laws out of Gaza and back home to Dundee. With the British government ignoring his pleas for help, he had to coordinate with other countries to get Elizabeth and Maged across the Rafah border into Egypt. While supporting his wife and children as they waited for daily updates from Elizabeth on her battle for survival, Yousaf also had to lead the whole of Scotland – as well as reassure the nation’s traumatised Jewish community. All while responding to online attacks.

As well as documenting his in-laws’ escape from Gaza, Under Fire also tells the story of how a son of immigrants grew up to become the first Muslim leader of a Western European country. Yousaf also tells of his fears on the rise of far-right populism and how to combat the forces that seek to divide us. The book draws back the curtain to give an honest account of how true leadership means reconciling personal loyalties with public duty, and how, in a world riven with conflict, it is more important than ever that leaders under pressure maintain their humanity and empathy for all.