UK warns against travel to Israel as conflict intensifies

Britain has issued a warning against all travel to Israel as tensions between the country and Iran escalated with a fresh wave of missile strikes from both sides.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL DAVID MADDOX HOLLY BANCROFT

As Donald Trump called for the two countries to make a deal to end the fighting, the UK Foreign Office updated its travel advice to say that it now advises against travel to any part of Israel.

The US president had earlier threatened to respond with "the full strength and might of the US armed forces" after Iran threatened to attack bases operated by the US, the UK and France if these countries stepped in to defend Israel. And a defiant Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned as he visited Bat Yam, a city just south of Tel Aviv that was hit by deadly strikes, that Iran would be punished for causing the deaths of Israeli civilians.

"Iran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children," Mr Netanyahu said.

Overnight, Iran and Israel continued to target each other with devastating missiles and airstrikes as explosions were heard in Tehran and Tel Aviv.

In Israel, rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13.

In Iran, images from the capital, Tehran, showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against its oil and gas sector, raising the stakes for the global economy and the ability of the nation to function.

Iran's state media said yesterday that the death toll of Israel's attacks on Iran since Friday has climbed to 224, of which 90 per cent are civilians, including children.

Iran's deputy Formin Khatibzadeh said Israel hit one of the Foreign Ministry's buildings, injuring several employees.