The war between Israel and Gaza comes at a moment of historic chaos in the US Congress, where Republican infighting risks hampering the US response as Washington rushes to support its ally Israel.
Most pressing is the fact the House of Representatives has no way to bring forward legislation to approve new spending for Israeli security, after Kevin McCarthy was removed from his position as speaker by his own Republican Party last week.
The earliest that Republicans, who hold a narrow majority, can try to install a new leader is on Wednesday.
House foreign affairs committee chairman Mike McCaul told Fox News on Monday that the US has “adequate” funding to support its response to the war “in the short term".
But Mr McCaul said that Congress must act to ensure longer-term support to Israel, including replenishing its Iron Dome anti-missile system and its supplies of precision-guided missiles.
“I would urge my colleagues to not play games with this. It is very serious. It sent a message to the rest of the world that we are weak and dysfunctional,” he said.
“Democracy has to work right now. The world is simply too dangerous.”
Israel has launched a barrage of strikes on the densely packed Gaza Strip, vowing a “complete siege” including “no electricity, no food, no fuel” in response to Hamas militants' surprise attack that has killed at least 900 people in Israel.
More than 500 Palestinians have been killed since the war's launch.
At least nine Americans are among the dead.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday that the US military will immediately start shipping ammunition to the Israel Defence Forces.
The House of Representatives has a temporary Speaker, Patrick McHenry, but he has only limited authority and is unable to bring forward legislation until a permanent leader is elected.
He does not have the power to issue subpoenas or sign off on any other official House business.
The Congress had already appropriated $3.3 billion for assistance to Israel, which President Joe Biden has full authority to take from.
“It's absolutely essential we elect a speaker and get back to the business of the people. The first bill on the floor will be my bill condemning Hamas for this terrorist assault on Israel,” Mr McCaul said.
Jonathan Lord, senior fellow and director of the Middle East security programme at the Centre for a New American Security, said the House was going through “unprecedented times”.
Mr Lord said that rules are “opaque” regarding Congress's ability to act on increasing support for Israel without a speaker of the House.
Mr Biden “is going to need more support in the form of a supplemental [spending approval] once he's either exhausted the US stock supply or feels he can't deplete it any further,” Mr Lord, who previously worked on the staff of the House armed services committee, told The National.
He believes with strong enough bipartisan support to push relevant legislation through, Mr McHenry “could get legislation passed to support Israel in this conflict … but the adults in the room need to prevail".
“Checks and balances require the US Congress to function. If it doesn't function, things go bad really fast even before we get to these types of crises," he said.
"If the Congress can't get itself into a position where it can enact legislation, that's detrimental in massive ways.”
Already, the usual order of business for moments of crisis has been disrupted in the Congress.
Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries was reported to have been briefed on the war on Saturday, and is expected to schedule a briefing for all House members next week.
Typically, the speaker of the House would have received that briefing.
But the war has rallied strong bipartisan shows of support for Israel in Congress, and Mr Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been in frequent contact, seemingly setting aside political differences for the moment.
Senate foreign relations chairman Ben Cardin said he intended to advance legislation “at the first opportunity” that boosts US military support of Israel, including “replenishment of missile defence for Iron Dome that ensures such interceptors are always available".
Meanwhile, the war appears to have expedited the stalled confirmation of Mr Biden's nominee for ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew.
US media reported on Monday that the Senate foreign relations committee will host his confirmation hearing on October 18.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday also ordered the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier strike group into the Eastern Mediterranean in support of Israel and to deter Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The US and Israel trained together in January during the allies' largest ever joint military exercise, Juniper Oak.
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Smoke near houses and buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza city. Reuters -
People sleep in a bomb shelter as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, in Ashkelon, southern Israel. Reuters -
Israeli soldiers drive in a tank by Israel's border with Gaza in southern Israel. Reuters -
Palestinians inspect the massive destruction following Israeli air strikes on Gaza City's Al Rimal district. AFP -
The abandoned site of the Supernova desert music festival in southern Israel. AFP -
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in the Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Palestinians attend a rally in support of Hamas and the Gaza Strip in the West Bank city of Nablus. AP -
A medic tends to an injured child following Israeli air strikes in the Rimal district of Gaza city. Bloomberg -
Injured civilians arrive at a hospital following Israeli airstrikes in the Rimal district of Gaza City. Bloomberg -
Israeli soldiers patrol a road near the border fence with Gaza. AFP -
Palestinians sit among rubbles of a damaged residential building, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Gaza city. Reuters -
People gather at the site where a rocket landed in Ashdod, southern Israel. Reuters -
Pictures of Natthaporn On-kaew, 26, a factory worker in Gaza, who has been abducted in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, at his house in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. Reuters -
A fire burns among the rubble of a damaged residential building in Gaza city. Reuters -
Palestinians view aftermath of an Israeli air strike on Gaza city. EPA -
A Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedic carries a wounded child to Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city, following an Israeli air strike. EPA -
People view a sign showing landed and cancelled flights at the arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, south-east of Tel Aviv. Getty Images -
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Toronto, capital of Canada's Ontario province. AFP -
A rally in support of Israel in Aventura, Florida. AFP -
Israeli soldiers at the funeral of Ili Bar Sade, a soldier killed in an attack by Hamas militants, in Tel Aviv. Reuters -
Lightning strikes as smoke billows following Israeli bombardment of Gaza City. AFP -
A fireball erupts during Israeli bombardment of Gaza city. AFP -
Israeli artillery soldiers clean a cannon at an area on the border with Gaza, southern Israel. EPA -
Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli air strike on buildings in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip. AFP -
Palestinians assess damage in Gaza city. EPA -
Israeli soldiers cordon off an area after a shooting in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. AFP -
Palestinians evacuate the area after an Israeli air strike on Al Sousi Mosque in Gaza city. AFP -
A site struck by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip is evacuated in Ashkelon, southern Israel. AP -
Israeli troops in Merkava tanks take position near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. AFP -
The heavily hit refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip is littered with debris. AFP -
Israeli soldiers take cover during a missile attack next to the border with Gaza, near Sderot, southern Israel. EPA -
The rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
A plume of smoke rises over Gaza city as Israeli air strikes hit. AFP -
Grief at the funeral of Palestinians from the Shamalkh family, who health officials said were killed in Israeli strikes, in Gaza city. Reuters -
Palestinians inspect damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli strikes at Al Shati refugee camp in Gaza city. Reuters -
A wedding photo in the rubble of a building in Ashkelon, southern Israel. Reuters -
Destruction in Gaza city's Al Shati refugee camp. AFP -
A mosque destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza city. AFP -
A vigil for Israeli victims at the Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles. AFP -
An Israeli soldier directs armoured vehicles heading towards the border with the Gaza Strip. Getty Images -
A burnt out car from a battle between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters in Sderot. Getty Images -
A police station that was destroyed in Sderot. Getty Images -
A missile explodes in Gaza city. AFP
