‘We can only pray they survive the night’: Humza Yousaf says he ‘can’t get through to family’ in Gaza as Israel launches ‘unprecedented’ bombing campaign and ‘cuts off all communications’

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Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has said he and his wife are unable to get through to family members trapped in the Gaza Strip amid a huge expansion in ground operations by Israel as it launches an offensive against terror group Hamas.

Taking to social media on Friday night, Mr Yousaf said that telecommunications into the region have been cut, leaving them unable to know if his wife’s family, including her parents, are alive. 

This statement was echoed by local telecoms firms as they said all internet and mobile service had gone, amid some of the heaviest bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israel yet.

Israel has been warning of an imminent ground offensive for weeks after Hamas launched a brutal surprise assault into Israeli territory, killing at least 1,400 people, most of whom were civilians.

Its chief military spokesperson confirmed air and ground operations would be significantly stepped up overnight as it continues its response to the attacks, which the Hamas-led Palestinian health ministry so far says has killed at least 7,300 people. 

Hamas responded and said it is ‘ready’ for an Israeli offensive. 

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has said he and his wife are unable to get through to family members trapped in the Gaza Strip

Taking to social media on Friday night, Mr Yousaf said that telecommunications into the region have been cut

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Yousaf said on Friday: ‘Gaza is under intense bombing. Telecommunications have been cut. 

‘We can’t get through to our family who have been trapped in this war zone for almost 3 weeks. We can only pray they survive the night. How many more children have to die before the world says enough?’

Mr Yousaf has been vocal in calling for an immediate ceasefire and increasing humanitarian support into the besieged region.

Earlier this week he revealed that his in-laws don’t know ‘whether they are going to make it from one night to the next’.

He said on Monday that Elizabeth El-Nakla and her husband Maged – the parents of Mr Yousaf’s wife Nadia – have been left with just six bottles of drinking water between 100 people.

‘They’re really living in a situation that my mother-in-law describes as torture,’ Mr Yousaf said.

‘The whole night there will be missiles, rocket fire, drones – they don’t know whether they are going to make it from one night to the next.

‘They’re down to six bottles of clean drinking water in a house of 100 people including a two-month-old baby, she tells me.’

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who has relatives trapped in Gaza, said on Friday she faced a sleepless night over her fears for them

Explosions in the northern Gaza Strip pictured overnight on Friday

An Israeli military spokesperson said ground activities are being expanded tonight

According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 7,300 people are known to have died

Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles have been amassing along the Gaza border for weeks

Nadia’s parents previously recorded what they described as a ‘final’ video message, recounting their fears that they would not survive a ground assault by the IDF.

READ MORE: Israel unleashes ‘unprecedented’ airstrikes on Gaza: IDF steps up ground operations and tells Palestinians to flee south NOW as invasion looms – while phone lines and internet are ‘cut’ across the city

As news of the suspected offensive broke, Mr Yousaf’s SNP Westminster leader tweeted: ‘If accurate, and a ground incursion is about to occur, it’d be inconceivable for the doors of the UK Parliament to remain shut. 

‘With UK citizens trapped in Gaza and potential for huge regional and international impact, a recall would have to take place to press for a ceasefire.’

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who also has family trapped in Gaza, said on Friday night she was facing a sleepless night over her fears for her family and the wider Palestinian people.

She said: ‘Every night I go to sleep afraid of what new heart-wrenching developments I am going to wake up to. But tonight, I may not be able to sleep at all. Please let me be wrong.’

In a recent interview about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with Richard Madeley, he was heavily criticised for asking whether her family had prior knowledge of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

International aid charities are also unable to contact their volunteers on the ground.

In a statement released on social media, Oxfam said: ‘Gaza [is] facing total communication blackout as on ground and air offensive intensifies.

‘Oxfam is deeply concerned about the situation, especially the total loss of communication with Gaza. We demand a #CeasefireNOW to protect innocent lives.’

International charity ActionAid, which has bases in the UK and around the world, said it is ‘gravely concerned’ for the safety of their colleagues.

In a statement a spokesperson said: ‘Tonight, we have lost all contact with our colleagues in Gaza. 

‘We are gravely concerned for their safety and that of all the people of Gaza as signs grow of a major land escalation following almost three weeks of bombardment. 

‘We urgently call for the restoration of communication channels, as this is not only a matter of principle but also one of practical necessity. 

‘The blackout isolates the population, making it nearly impossible for them to seek help, share their stories, or maintain contact with loved ones. 

A salvo of rockets are fired from Gaza City towards Israel on Friday night

Charities say they are unable to get in touch with humanitarian volunteers as airstrikes continue

‘This isolation deepens the suffering of those already enduring a dire humanitarian crisis amidst an increase in the aerial bombardment of civilians.  A population that has already suffered so much is now under even more threat. We urgently reiterate our calls for a ceasefire.’

Palestine’s Red Crescent added it was ‘extremely worried and concerned’ for its colleagues.

Despite the concerns, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly reaffirmed the UK government’s support for Israel on Friday.

In a statement released on social media he said: ‘Israel is expanding their military campaign against Hamas. 

‘The UK’s top priority remains the safety of British nationals in Gaza and the region. 

‘We support Israel’s right to self defence, in line with IHL [international humanitarian law], and continue to push for the protection of Palestinian civilians.

Mr Cleverly’s comments came shortly before the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a ‘humanitarian truce’. 

‘In the last hours, we intensified the attacks in Gaza,’ Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a televised news briefing, raising expectations that the long-anticipated ground invasion of Gaza may be beginning.

He said the air force was conducting extensive strikes on tunnels and other infrastructure.

 ‘In addition to the attacks carried out in the last few days, ground forces are expanding their operations tonight,’ he said.

An advisor to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu later added that Hamas would ‘feel our wrath’. 

Charities have lost contact with their aid workers as bombing intensifies

Palestinians injured in Israeli air raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital on October 27

Israeli forces have massed outside Gaza, where Israel has been conducting an intense campaign of aerial bombardment since a deadly October 7 attack on Israel by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Earlier on Friday, Palestinian mobile phone service provider Jawwal said that services including phone and internet had been cut by heavy bombardment.

A statement from the Palestine Red Crescent Society said it had completely lost contact with its operations room in Gaza and all its teams operating on the ground.

Israel has said has been preparing a ground invasion, but has been urged by the U.S. and Arab countries to delay an operation that would multiply the number of civilian casualties in the densely populated coastal strip and might ignite a wider conflict.

A ground invasion would markedly escalates Israel’s campaign of retribution for the deadly Hamas attack of October 7.

Such an operation would exacerbate what aid groups call a humanitarian crisis in Gaza following days of aerial bombardment that Hamas health authorities say have killed more than 7,000 Palestinians.

That followed a shock attack by hundreds of Hamas gunmen, who rampaged through Israeli communities close to the Gaza Strip, killing 1,400 people and dragging more than 200 into captivity.

Concerns about a risk of a wider Middle East conflict have risen in recent days with the U.S. dispatching more military assets to the region as Israel pummelled targets in Gaza and Hamas supporters in Lebanon and Syria.

Israeli leaders have vowed to wipe out Hamas, the Islamist movement that has run Gaza since 2007, and kill the leaders and planners of the Oct. 7 assault, undeterred by pleas from humanitarian agencies to spare the civilian population.

Much of the infrastructure of Gaza, which has been living under blockade by Israel and Egypt since 2007, has been shattered by the Israeli bombing.

This is a breaking news story and is being updated. 

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