The US House of Representatives has approved a $14.3bn (£11.7bn) aid bill to Israel, though Democrats have warned it is dead on arrival in the Senate.

The Republican measure was approved by 226-196 with the help of 12 Democrats. Two Republicans voted no.

Democratic leaders want a bill that includes funding for Ukraine, but House Republicans opposed bundling Ukraine and Israel aid into the one measure.

Senate leader Chuck Schumer slammed the House bill as “deeply flawed”.

Mr Schumer said the upper chamber of Congress, which his fellow Democrats narrowly control, will not pass it.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has vowed to veto the bill should it ever land on his desk.

It was the first major legislative action under the new Republican House Speaker Mike Johnston.

The funding plan includes $4bn for Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling – defence systems it uses to shoot down rockets.

To offset the cost of the aid to Israel, Republicans proposed cutting $14.3bn in funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is responsible for collecting US federal taxes.

However, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said the planned cuts to IRS funding would result in less tax revenue, and increase the US deficit by nearly $12.5bn over the next decade.

Democrats have dismissed the Republican proposal as unserious. Instead, Senate leaders said they would work on a bipartisan package that includes aid for both Israel and Ukraine along with humanitarian aid for Gaza.

Support for continued assistance to Ukraine is steadfast among Democrats, who say it is essential as the country fights Russia’s invasion that began in February 2022.

Many Senate Republicans also support helping Ukraine, but a vocal group among them have questioned the continued aid at a time of strain on US finances.

Mr Johnson, the House Speaker, said he intends to propose a separate package for Ukraine that will be combined with funding for security at the US-Mexico border.

“Ukraine will come in short order. It will come next,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“We want to pair border security with Ukraine, because I think we can get bipartisan agreement on both of those matters.”

Mr Johnson said House Republicans were “trying to get back to the principle of fiscal responsibility”.

But the White House and many Democrats in Congress not only urged help for Ukraine, but also opposed tying the aid for Israel to cuts in the tax agency budget.

Last year, as part of a Democratic bill named the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress allocated $80bn to the IRS.

“My Republican friends say they want to help Israel. And so, what do they do? They condition the aid to Israel on essentially a tax break for millionaires and billionaires and corporations that cheat on their taxes,” said Democratic congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts.

The two Republicans to vote against the bill were ultraconservatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

“We can’t afford more foreign aid,” Mr Massie posted on X. “I voted against the billions for Ukraine, and I am voting against $14+ billion of foreign aid for Israel tonight.”

The US has approved $113bn in military, humanitarian and economic aid for Ukraine since its war with Russia began.