Cameron is now being asked how much influence the UK really has in Gaza.

He says a key example of this is that the government has been pushing to get more aid into Gaza, which is now happening.

He mentions the two recently opened humanitarian routes into Gaza - the Erez Gate and Ashdod Port - and says the UK has trebled its aid budget for Gaza since the war began.

For context: Israel approved the opening of the two routes earlier this month, hours after US President Joe Biden warned Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel needed to take steps to prevent civilian harm and humanitarian suffering if it wanted to maintain US support.

More now from Cameron, who's speaking to BBC Breakfast about the strikes Iran fired at Israel over the weekend.

The foreign secretary is asked what restraint looks like from Israel's point of view. He says it's not having another wave of attacks, and instead putting pressure on Hamas to release hostages, pause fighting in Gaza and flood aid in.

He says the situation needs to be de-escalated, while "getting the whole world to recognise what a malign influence Iran is in the region".

Cameron adds that sanctions on Iran and other pressures need to be looked at.

David Cameron says Israel is "perfectly justified" to respond to Iran, as it's been attacked, but to be careful and "think with its head, not heart".

He tells the BBC he thinks it's the right thing to not escalate the situation further and to focus on targeting Hamas, who hold people hostage.

We're hearing from UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron on BBC Breakfast now.

He's asked how worried people should be about the situation.

Cameron says we're living in a "very dangerous world" and what Iran did "was a very dangerous act".

He says 301 weapons were fired, including 110 ballistic missiles and 43 cruise missiles. [In a later BBC interview, Cameron said the number of cruise missiles fired was 36.]

Cameron adds that it was a very significant attack, "but fortunately, it was a failure".

He goes on to say Iran has suffered a "double defeat", after its attack failed and the regime revealed its true nature to the world.

In the next few moments, we'll be hearing from Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who will be speaking to BBC Breakfast and then later to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

We'll be bringing you the key lines from both those interviews on this page, so stay with us.

The White House has told Israel that the US won't join in any retaliatory strikes on Iran.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, a senior administration official said that Biden had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "think very carefully and strategically" about how his forces replied to the unprecedented action, the first direct attack by Iran on the country.

In a string of television appearances on US networks earlier yesterday, national security spokesman John Kirby repeatedly said that the US had made it clear to Israel that it seeks to avoid a wider conflict.

Both Kirby and the official said that the US would continue to defend Israel, but has ruled out participating in any Israeli response.

Israel's allies hope to stop slide into all-out warpublished at 07:10 British Summer Time 15 April

07:10 BST 15 April

Jeremy Bowen
International editor

Almost all of the weapons - drones, cruise and ballistic missiles - fired at Israeli territory by Iran were stopped by formidable air defences; Israel's own considerable capabilities, bolstered by the US, UK and Jordan.

Their allies, especially the US, helped them out enormously over the course of the night. US President Joe Biden reiterated his promise - "ironclad" security for Israel, essentially saying 'we've got your back'.

In return, the Americans want restraint from Israel. Biden sent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a clear message.

Iran's attack has been thwarted, Israel has a victory, so do not escalate this any further by responding with military strikes on Iranian soil. A senior Western diplomat told me that it was now vital to draw a line, to stop further escalation.

Drawing a line seems to be Iran's hope too. It has signalled that Israel's attack in Damascus has been answered - it will only escalate further if it's attacked again.

• Read my full analysis here

These strikes, carried out by Iran, mark the first time ever that the country's fired at Israeli territory.

In the middle of Saturday night, air raid alerts went off in Israel and residents were urged to seek shelter while explosions were heard as air defences were activated.

Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles, the Israeli military said the next day - including 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles. The shortest distance from Iran to Israel is about 1,000km (620 miles) across Iraq, Syria and Jordan.

Interceptions lit up the night sky in several places across the country, while many of the strikes were shot down by Israel's allies before they reached Israeli territory.

At least nine countries were involved in the military escalation - with projectiles fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and downed by Israel, the US, the UK and France as well as Jordan.

• For more about the attacks, head to our explainer here

Image source, .

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

In Israel, schools were closed to children and public gatherings limited in size as a safety precaution just ahead of Iran’s launch of more than 300 missiles and drones.

The easing of the restrictions reflects the military’s view that the threat of a new wave of attacks has passed.

After three hours of deliberations, Israel’s war cabinet did not reach a decision yesterday on how to respond to the Iranian attacks. It’s said to favour retaliation but is divided over the timing and scale that should take. Israel’s military is said to have been drawing up options.

Israel has said that all of the attack drones and cruise missiles launched by Iran were downed outside of its airspace with the help of its allies, including the US and the UK.

Iran has insisted that it gave neighbouring countries, and the US, 72 hours notice of its plan to launch the strikes.

However, the US and Israel dispute the timing and say that the aim was to cause significant damage including to a key Israeli airbase.

About 99% of the missiles, drones and cruise missiles launched during Iran's retaliatory operation were shot down or intercepted, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

Some made it through Israel's defences, however. The IDF has released new images of the damage caused by those that did:

Image source, Israel Defense Forces

Image source, Israel Defense Forces

Image source, EPA

Here's a look at some other key moments from yesterday's meeting:

• Gilad Erdan, Israel's UN ambassador, has urged the Security Council to impose "all possible sanctions on Iran before it's too late"
• At the meeting, he said the community needed "a world led by Churchills, not Chamberlains".
• Iranian ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said his country's action was necessary and proportionate
• He added that Tehran does not seek war in the region and has no intention of engaging in conflict with the US, but would respond "proportionately" should Washington involve itself militarily

• But Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador, warned: "If Iran or its proxies take actions against the United States or further action against Israel, Iran will be held responsible"

Image source, Getty Images

Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned members not to further escalate tensions with reprisals against Iran, saying that the Middle East is already "on the brink".

Speaking at the Security Council on Sunday evening, he said: "The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate. Neither the region nor the world can afford more war."

At the same meeting, Israel’s UN envoy urged the Security Council to impose “all possible sanctions” against Iran after the nation’s unprecedented attacks.

More than 300 drones and missiles were fired at Israel overnight on Saturday, which Iran said was in response to an 1 April strike on its consulate in Syria. Almost all were shot down before reaching their targets.

"Today the council must take action (and) condemn Iran for their terror," said Israel ambassador Gilan Erdan at the heated meeting.

For now, all eyes are on Israel as it weighs possible responses to the attack.

Stay with us on this page for the latest updates, reaction and analysis.

We're pausing our live coverage - thank you for joining us today.

In the meantime please read our International Editor Jeremy Bowen's piece on whether the US and allies can stop slide into all-out war

The page was written by Emily Atkinson, Nathan Williams, Yvette Tan, Aoife Walsh, Thomas Mackintosh and Sophie Abdulla.

It has been edited by Johanna Chisholm, James Harness, Aparna Alluri and Tom Spender.

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

We will shortly be bringing our coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East to a close, but before we do let's have a quick recap of the key moments from the last 24 hours:

• Israel came under attack from a wave of drones and missiles in Iran's first direct strikes on its territory
• The attack involved more than 300 drones and missiles - the vast majority were intercepted, Israeli's military said
• One ballistic missile hit the Nevatim air base in the south of the country, causing minor damage, officials said
• Iran said the assault was a response to a deadly attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria earlier this month
• Tehran also warned if Israel retaliated its next response would be bigger.
• PM Benjamin Netanyahu convened a war cabinet to discuss the attack, which was separately condemned by global leaders including US President Joe Biden, British PM Rishi Sunak and the UN Secretary General
• The US President has hosted an online meeting of the G7 leaders while the White House has insisted it does not want to see the crisis in the Middle East escalate

Image source, Reuters

Jordan's foreign minister Ayman Safadi has told local media that his country had summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest against Iranian comments that were an interference in the kingdom's internal affairs.

Safadi was referring to comments in Iran's official media in recent days that warned Jordan would be the next target in the event it cooperated with Israel in a showdown with Iran.

During the Iranian attack on Israel, Jordan also intercepted flying objects that entered its airspace. This was to secure the safety of its citizens, a Jordanian cabinet statement said.

Earlier Safadi said that regional escalation had to be prevented as it "could push whole region into abyss of war".

But he said the first step towards de-escalation was ending the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and "starting to implement the two-state solution [for Israelis and Palestinians] as it is the only path to security & peace for all".

Jordan, which has a peace treaty with Israel, has been highly critical of the way Israel has carried out its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, which has killed 33,000 mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza ministry of health.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari has just held a press conference in Tel Aviv saying Israel is still on high alert and has approved defensive and offensive plans.

He talked about Iran's attack last night saying "approximately 350 suicide drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and rockets" were launched.

Hagari added approximately 60 tonnes of "warheads and explosives" were attached to the missiles and drones.

"Together we thwarted Iran's attack," Hagari said - praising a coalition of allied nations for helping Israel defend itself from 99% of the bombardment.

"This was the first time that such a coalition worked together against the threat of Iran," he added.

He ended by saying that Israel had not lost sight of what he called the country's mission in Gaza - where Israel has been attempting to destroy the Palestinian armed group Hamas and free hostages taken by the group when it attacked Israeli communities last October, killing about 1,200 mainly civilians.

Will Vernon
BBC News, Washington

We’ve just heard from two senior US officials who’ve given us more information about the Iranian attack, as well as an insight into some of the conversations White House officials have been having with their Israeli counterparts.

A senior defence official said the US Navy shot down between four and six Iranian ballistic missiles (out of more than one hundred fired) over the Mediterranean Sea, and aircraft took out more than seventy drones fired by Iran. He added there were no casulaties or damage to American assets in the region.

A senior administration official reiterated that the US is committed to defending Israel, and talked about what might happen next in terms of the Israeli response: “The big question is not only whether, but what the Israelis might choose to do, so this is a decision for them.”

The official was asked whether Mr Biden told Mr Netanyahu that America wouldn’t take part in any retaliatory action against Iran.

“We would not envision ourselves participating in such a thing,” the official said, “No-one wants to run up the escalation ladder here.”

The official added that Additional military deployments to the region have been approved by President Biden – including a missile destroyer.

Israel’s former ambassador to the UN and member of Knesset, Danny Danon, says Israel has “no other choice” but to “retaliate”.

When asked about this, Danon told BBC News that there are options including to “attack the proxies, or we can attack Iran”.

Kasra Naji
Special Correspondent, BBC Persian TV

Iran took a big risk with its attacks on Israel using more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

The best outcome for Iran’s military planners is if Israel decides not to retaliate. Iran does not have strong or sophisticated missile defence systems that cover the whole of the country, and similar attacks by Israel on Iran could cause extensive casualties and damage.

Nonetheless, Iran seems to have decided to put its relations with Israel on a new footing.

Iran entered into direct military conflict with Israel for the first time after nearly 45 years – that is a major shift and signals that Iran, under pressure from its own hardliners, and public opinion in the Arab world, has decided that it can no longer hide behind its proxies, and will have to manage its hostility towards Israel more openly.