Israel faced pressure from its allies on Wednesday to refrain from striking back at Iran for its unprecedented missile and drone attack as Washington and Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions against the Islamic republic.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock were the first Western envoys to visit Israel and urge calm after Iran’s weekend attack, against which Israel has vowed to retaliate.
Cameron said, “We’re very anxious to avoid escalation and to say to our friends in Israel It’s a time to think with head as well as heart, and in many ways this is a double defeat for Iran.”

“Not only was their attack an almost total failure, but also the rest of the world can now see what a malign influence they are in the region,” Cameron told Times Radio.
Israel’s top ally the United States has made clear it won’t join any attack on Iran and has called for de-escalation, as have a host of other Western and Arab leaders.
The sharply heightened Israel-Iran tensions have threatened to overshadow the Gaza war, even as deadly bombardment and combat raged on unabated in the besieged territory.

Israel has faced growing global opposition to the relentless fighting, which has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war has revived the push for a two-state solution.
The Palestinians this month formally revived an application first made in 2011, though the veto-wielding United States has repeatedly expressed opposition.
The UN Security Council was preparing to vote today (Thursday) on an Algeria-drafted resolution for full United Nations membership for a Palestinian state, diplomatic sources said.
The UN Security Council last month adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but this has had no effect on the ground.