US-made weapons have been used by the Israeli army in a military offensive on Gaza, which have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the strip.

The deadly raids launched on December 27 have so far claimed the lives of at least 439 people and wounded some 2,280 others in the Gaza Strip.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr said that a Hamas leader who was killed on Thursday was targeted by an American-made 2,000 pound bomb.

"This is part of the billions of dollars that Israel has spent buying weapons from the United States," she said.

US Congress approved a 77-million-dollar deal in September to sell a thousand Boeing GBU-39 bunker-buster 'smart bombs' to Israel.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the GPS-guided missiles are being used by the Israeli army in its onslaught on Gaza.

"Precision guided bombs are only precision in that they hit the target they are aimed at," Starr said.

"We're getting these civilian casualties. These weapons are supposed to be used for a country's self-defense. Israel, obviously, believes this is its self-defense against Hamas, but you see these civilian casualties. That's not why the US sells weapons abroad -- for the killing of innocent civilians."

"The world community only is going to stand for this for so long," Starr said. "It's this reason that you're seeing people look for a political settlement."

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with other cabinet members and discussed a ground offensive into Gaza.

Israel says the military operation on Gaza aims to halt rocket attacks by Palestinian factions.

In retaliation to the attacks, the Hamas movement has continued its attacks launch from the Gaza Strip.

The strip has been under an Israeli blockade since the Hamas movement won a majority in the 2006 Palestinian election and took control of the area in mid-June 2007.