Lord Cameron has urged Israel to do “as little as possible to escalate” tensions in the Middle East, ahead of talks with PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel has vowed to retaliate after Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack at the weekend.
The UK foreign secretary will push Israel to rein in the scale of its response over fears it could lead to a wider war.
He called on Israel’s government to be “smart as well as tough”.
Speaking to reporters shortly after arriving in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Lord Cameron said he was there to “show solidarity after that appalling attack by Iran”.
He continued: “It’s right to have made our views clear about what should happen next, but it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act.
“We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible. And in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough.
“But the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza.”
Later, Lord Cameron will travel to a gathering of G7 ministers in Italy, where he will push for coordinated sanctions on Iran.
He has accused Tehran of being “behind so much of the malign activity” in the Middle East and called for other countries to adopt measures designed to restrict Iran’s influence.
“They need to be given a clear unequivocal message by the G7,” Lord Cameron said. “And I hope that will happen at the meeting.”
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