Tributes have been paid to a Scottish man killed in Saturday's terrorist attack in Israel by Hamas.

In a statement, the family of Bernard Cowan described it as a "huge loss."  

The 57-year-old grew up in  Newton Mearns before moving out to Sufa. 

His mother, his brother and sister are all in Glasgow. 

In a statement, the family said: "We are grieving the loss of our son and brother, Bernard Cowan, who was horrifically murdered on Saturday during the surprise terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas.

"We ask for privacy at this time while we process this huge loss to our family, both at home and in Israel, and to the Jewish community in Glasgow where he will be sorely missed."

READ MORE: Humza Yousaf says family are trapped in Gaza amid Israel conflict

His brother, Colin Cowan, shared on Facebook: "Yesterday my brother was murdered by the terrorist Hamas.

"He was the kindest, most generous person you would ever meet, and would go out of his way to help others.

"We are all heartbroken."

His cousin Simon Gordon posted to X, formerly Twitter, that Mr Cowan was "murdered in cold blood in his home."

He added: "And when I thought the shock of what happened in Israel yesterday couldn't get worse.

Jackson Carlaw, the MSP for Eastwood, said the death was "desperately sad and grim news."

He added: "The family of Bernard Cowan, of late my Eastwood constituent, have confirmed that he was murdered on Saturday by Hamas.

"Our heartfelt condolences to his family as we respect their privacy in their grief. May his memory be a blessing."

It's understood the government believes more than 10 UK nationals have been killed in the attack.

So far, only Mr Cowan and Nathanel Young, a British man serving in the Israeli military are known to have died. 

More than 700 people have been killed in Israel since Hamas launched its attacks on Saturday morning, including 260 at a music festival.

Another 130 are believed to have been kidnapped.

Meanwhile, retaliatory strikes are believed to have killed 500 people in Gaza. 

The UK government believes around 50,000 to 60,000 British nationals are in either Israel or Gaza.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: "We don't comment on individual consular cases.

"However, we can confirm we are in contact with, and assisting, the families of several individuals in Israel and the OPTs [Occupied Palestinian Territories].

"The safety of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority and we urge everyone to continue to follow our travel advice which is updated regularly."

READ MORE: Maggie Chapman criticised over Hamas tweet in wake of attack

First Minister Humza Yousaf has said his parents-in-law are currently "trapped" in Gaza.

The parents of his wife Nadia El-Nakla's were visiting family at the time and are now unable to leave.

Despite the best efforts of the British Foreign Office, nobody, nobody can guarantee them safe passage anywhere,” he said.

“So I’m in a situation where, frankly, night by night, day by day, we don’t know whether or not my mother-in-law and father-in-law – who have nothing to do, as most Gazans don’t, with Hamas or with any terror attack – whether they will make it through the night or not."