The First Minister condemned the Iranian attack on Israel, describing it as an “extremely worrying development”.
Humza Yousaf said all parties in the Middle East should abide by UN Security Council resolutions and implement an immediate ceasefire.
He added that “violence begets violence” and that civilians in the region have already “paid far too high a price.”
The first minister stuck to his calls to end British arms sales to Israel.
According to the country’s military, Iran has fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel. Additional projectiles were fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Tehran’s attack is in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iranian military commanders in Damascus earlier this month. But it also comes after months of war between Israel and Hamas after the group attacked Israel on October 7.
Mr. Yousaf has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the region and criticized Israel’s response to Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 that killed about 1,200 people and took 253 others hostage.
The Israeli military launched an air and ground attack in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, more than 30,000 Palestinians were killed in that campaign.
British involvement
On Sunday morning, Mr Yousaf said the “vast majority” of those killed in the conflict in Gaza were innocent women and children. He said Israel had an advanced military and could defend itself without British-made weapons.
Mr Yousaf warned against escalation in the region.
“It is not men in their suits in governments who are paying the price for this escalation, but innocent civilians,” he said.
The British government has confirmed that RAF fighter jets were involved in the defense of Israel and shot down a number of drones fired from Iran.
The Ministry of Defense said additional RAF fighter jets were stationed over Iraq and Syria and not over Israel.
Mr Yousaf said he had asked the British government for a briefing on the situation but had not yet received one. He added that he had “concerns” about Britain’s military involvement in the Middle East.
“Our track record in this region is not particularly good,” he said. Mr Yousaf said he did not want “ripples” of the Middle East conflict to be felt in communities in Scotland, but admitted his calls for a ceasefire in the region had “fallen on deaf ears”.
The first minister’s in-laws were stuck in Gaza for almost a month at the start of the conflict, eventually crossing from Gaza into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing.