The US State Department said last night that Washington will provide Israel with $3.5 billion to spend on American weapons and military equipment, releasing the funds months after Congress allocated them during Israel's war in Gaza.

A State Department spokesman said the department notified Congress yesterday that the government intends to release billions of dollars in foreign military financing to Israel.

CNN had previously reported that the release of this amount comes as part of a $14 billion additional funding bill for Israel that Congress passed in April.

The move comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, with many fearing an escalation of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has already killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.

The risk of escalation into a wider war in the Middle East has increased after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the resistance movement "Hamas" in Iran, and Fuad Shukr, a prominent military commander in "Hezbollah" in Beirut, which raised threats of retaliation against Israel.