The US House of Representatives has defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel, despite nearly half of Democrats supporting it, reflecting a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel, Reuters reports.

The House has voted 314 to 104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

However, 103 Democrats and one Republican have backed it, a sharp departure from years in which bills supporting Israel passed almost unanimously.