Scotland’s leader Humza Yousaf has said his wife’s parents had been able to leave Gaza, ending a “living nightmare” for the family after they were trapped in the besieged Palestinian territory after Israel began bombarding the enclave following an attack by Hamas last month.

The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt was opened for limited evacuations for a third day under a Qatari-brokered deal aimed at letting some foreign passport holders, their dependents and some wounded Gazans out of the enclave.

A list of approved evacuees posted online earlier by the Rafah border crossings authority had included Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, the parents of Yousaf’s wife.

“We are very pleased to confirm that Nadia’s parents were able to leave Gaza through the Rafah Crossing this morning,” a statement from Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla said.

“We reiterate our calls for all sides to agree to an immediate ceasefire, the opening of a humanitarian corridor so that significant amounts of aid, including fuel, can flow through to a population that have suffered collective punishment for far too long,” Yousaf and his wife said, adding Hamas should release all their hostages.