Humza Yousaf, the First Minister, has expressed his concern about the attack on Israel by Iran, terming it an “extremely worrying development.” He urged all parties in the region to follow the UN Security Council resolutions and uphold an immediate ceasefire. Yousaf highlighted that civilians in the region have paid too high a price for the violence and that “violence begets violence.”
The First Minister stands by his calls to the UK to end its arms sales to Israel. On 7 October, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, which sparked months of warfare between them. In response, Israel launched an air and ground campaign in Gaza Strip, leading to the deaths of more than 30,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Iran’s attack on Israel comes after an Israeli strike killed Iranian military commanders in Damascus earlier this month, followed by months of hostility between Israel and Hamas. On its part, Iranian launched over 300 drones and missiles towards Israel, with other projectiles fired from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Yousaf has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the region and criticized Israel’s response to Hamas’s attacks on October 7. He stated that the vast majority of people killed in the conflict in Gaza were innocent women and children. Additionally, Yousaf has requested a briefing on the situation from the UK government, but he has not received it yet.
He has also expressed concerns about UK military involvement in the Middle East and urged against an escalation in the region, noting that “it’s not men in their suits in governments that pay the price for that escalation, it is innocent civilians.” Yousaf has conceded that his calls for a ceasefire in the region have “fallen on deaf ears.” His in-laws had been trapped in Gaza for almost a month at the start of the conflict, eventually making it out of Gaza and into Egypt via the Rafah crossing
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