The US Senate has blocked two resolutions that would have stopped the sale of some $450 million in bombs and bulldozers to Israel, as President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans rally behind his support for the Jewish state, Reuters reports.

But support for the resolutions from a large majority of the 47-member Senate Democratic caucus underscored growing frustration within that party about the effect on civilians from Israeli strikes on Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

A decades-long tradition of strong bipartisan support for Israel in the US Congress means resolutions to stop weapons sales are unlikely to pass, but backers hope raising the issue will encourage Israel’s government and US administrations to do more to protect civilians.

According to Al Jazeera, the 40-senator vote in favour of stopping weapons sales is a record number and has been called an “absolutely historic vote” by Mai El-Sadany, the executive director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.