WASHINGTON -- Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders forced an effort in the Senate on Wednesday to block the sale of some offensive weapons to Israel for its war in Gaza over mounting civilian deaths there.

Sen. Bernie Sanders' effort to prevent the White House from selling certain weapons to Israel was overwhelmingly rejected by the U.S. Senate Wednesday by a margin of roughly 60 votes.

Sanders, 83, had sought to block a $20 billion arms deal sending US military tank rounds, mortar rounds and joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS) to the Jewish State over what he described as