(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst has met in person with Israel’s top leaders as they respond to terror attacks that started over the weekend. Ernst says Hamas needs to be destroyed.

Ernst spoke by phone with Radio Iowa from Jordan after spending much of today (Tuesday) in Israel.

Ernst, a Republican, and three Democrats from the U-S House met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as the leader of the opposition party in Israel. Ernst says having a bipartisan delegation from the U-S meet with Israel’s leaders sends a powerful message.

Ernst, a retired Iowa National Guard officer who did a tour of duty in Iraq, says Hamas chose this weekend to strike knowing it was a major Jewish holiday and there would be many Americans visiting family in Israel. Israel declared war on Sunday.

Ernst left the U-S on Wednesday, originally planning to attend a conference with Israelis, Palestinians and Arab state leaders. Her first stops, though, were in places like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince this week has pledged to stand by Palestine, dealing a blow to efforts to form a diplomatic relationship among the U-S, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Hamas burst through border walls in Saturday’s attacks and has been firing rockets at Israel’s capital this week. Israel’s Iron Dome defense system has repelled thousands of rockets. Ernst says the U-S must provide Israel with additional intelligence as well as munitions to restock the Iron Dome. Ernst, a part of G-O-P leadership in the U-S Senate, says House Republicans must quickly select a new speaker so congress can act.

Ernst is also calling for freezing six billion dollars of Iran’s assets, being held in South Korea, that were part of a prisoner swamp the Biden Administration arranged between the U-S and Iran last month.

Ernst says the sadness and terror in Israel is palpable. One of the Americans Ernst met in Israel had just attended the funeral of his 18-year-old son’s best friend.

Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks has been in some of the overseas meetings with Ernst, including a visit to Bahrain on Monday, but Miller-Meeks was NOT part of the delegation that visited Israel Tuesday.