The US Senate has approved a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The overwhelming vote in favor marks the end of six months of deadlock in Congress. The measures approve around $61 billion in long-awaited aid for Ukraine alone. It also designates more than 26 billion in aid for Israel and $8 billion for Taiwan and US Indopacific allies. On Saturday, the House of Representatives ended months of stalemate to pass the aid package. It's expected to be signed into law by President Biden shortly. The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said the United States had shown its allies that it would not turn its back on them.

A lot of people inside and outside the Congress wanted this package to fail. But today, those in Congress who stand on the side of democracy are winning the day. To our friends in Ukraine, to our allies in NATO, to our allies in Israel, and to civilians around the world in need of help, help is on the way. To our friends in Ukraine, America will deliver more ammo and air defenses and basic supplies that you need to resist Putin on the battlefield.

Our North America correspondent, Peter Bowes, has more on what's been approved.

This was a long time in coming, held up for months, in large part by Republicans in the House, some of whom would rather see more money spent here in the United States on immigration and on the issues affecting the Southern border of the US with Mexico. But there does seem to be a change of heart amongst some Republicans, notably the speaker of the House, which allowed it to pass through that stage, that part of Congress at the weekend. Now, rubber-stamped, you could say, or at least passed in the upper house, the Senate as well, just remains for it to be signed into law by President Biden. We expect to see that happening in the next few hours, and the President already issuing a statement indicating that that military aid that President Zelensky in Ukraine has said that is so desperately needed, that military aid will be on the way, we're told, by the end of this week, defense weaponry in particular that is so desperately needed. That's part of the $61 billion package for Ukraine. Then there's $26 billion for Israel, also humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, and about eight billion for Taiwan to stave off potential advances by China and some of the issues in the Indopacific region.

One of the measures in this bill, perhaps most controversial for some Americans, at least, is the potential ban on TikTok. And this is part of the security measure that is part of this very large bill with essentially an ultimatum to ByteDance, which is the company, the Chinese a company that owns TikTok, that they should divest and sell the platform to an American owner or face a ban in this country. Now, nothing is really going to happen quickly. It's quite likely that ByteDance will take this to the courts, claim that this move is unconstitutional, and also suggests that the concerns of Americans are misplaced, or the concerns of Washington are misplaced, and that is that the Chinese government could invoke security measures to, in some way, get hold of the personal data of Americans that is part of that app. Bytedance is likely to say that they've already taken measures to ensure that that doesn't happen.

Israel said the US Senate approval of $13 billion in military aid sent a strong message to its enemies. Well, let's get more on this with our Middle East correspondent, Yolanda Nell. Tell us more about the reaction that Israel has had to this USAID being passed.

Well, Israel's reaction is basically of great thanks to the US, its closest ally. We've had that coming from the Israeli Foreign Minister. This is a top story that this aid package has been passed in most of the Israeli media this morning. And if you break it down, you can see that really you have here $5 billion that goes for replenishing and expanding Israel's air defense systems that have been used so much recently Italy, including in shielding Israel from that attack by Iran. Three and a half billion for purchasing advanced weapons systems from the US, a billion for enhancing weapons production, and then on top of that, four and a half billion, almost, in other supplies and services. And then you have this other amount, some nine billion, which is going to humanitarian aid in conflict zones around the world. And that does include money that will go for Gaza, where we've had the US expressing concerns that it still remains close to famine, particularly in the north.

And Yoland, in the meantime, we've also had reports of some of the heaviest shelling of Gaza in Wies.

That's correct. And this is something that's reported up and down the Gaza Strip. In the north, also some notable Israeli airstrikes. This after the Israeli military issued fresh evacuation orders to people living in parts of Bethlehia in the north. Now, this is significant because this is an area that Israel had long ago said that it had cleared, and it adds to the sense that Hamas, in particular, is able to regroup, is coming back, and it gives us an idea of where things could go in terms of Israel's overall military offensive in Gaza, that it will continue to have Hamas coming back as a threat in areas where it thinks its troops have been able to withdraw. We've had rocket fire coming from the north of the Gaza Strip in a meaningful way, really for the first time in many weeks in just the past few days. The Israeli military says it's hit rocket launch sites with airstrikes. We've seen hundreds of Palestinians already responding to recorded messages and to text messages they've been sent, telling them that this is now being declared a dangerous combat zone where they're living. They've been heading down towards Gaza City in particular.

I think this comes, of course, 200 days into the war. We had a message from a rare message from the head of the Hamas military wing, Abu Abida, talking about how the Israeli military, he said, were stuck in the sands of Gaza. And at the same time, a lot of frustration being expressed on that 200-day marker by families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza. Some of them joining a demonstration in Tel Aviv last night, calling on the government desperately to do more to bring their loved ones home.

Yolanne Nell, thank you very much indeed.