Republicans tour occupied Majdal Shams, urging Biden to back Israel against Iran

Senator Joni Ernst wants US President to help Israel destroy Hamas and Hezbollah

Live updates: Follow the latest from Israel-Gaza

US congressional Republicans this week visited Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights in a show of anti-Iran sentiment amid warnings that Tehran is primed to attack Israel.

Senator Joni Ernst, co-chairwoman of the congressional Abraham Accords Caucus, led the delegation's visit in response to a strike there last month that killed 12 children as they played football.

Israel has blamed Hezbollah for the attack – which came as a shock to the mainly Druze community – and promised a “harsh response”.

A memorial in Majdal Shams. Thomas Helm / The National

Ms Ernst called on US President Joe Biden “to deny the IRGC’s ability to support and arm terrorists and provide Israel the resources it needs to decimate these terrorists once and for all”, referring to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“Witnessing the impact of this brutality further shows that Iran-backed Hezbollah and Hamas’s terrorism truly show no bounds,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

“To them, civilians are not off-limits, and they make no exceptions for targeting children or the football fields where they play.”

Hezbollah has launched near-daily rocket and drone attacks into northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights since the Gaza war began.

Protests against Benjamin Netanyahu as he visits site of attack in Majdal Shams

01:28

Meanwhile, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby appeared on Israeli TV on Tuesday, repeating that Washington believes Tehran remains poised to strike inside Israel.

The US has increased its force readiness throughout the region after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was leading the group's ceasefire negotiations at the time of his death. Tehran has blamed Israel for his death.

The delegation's visit to Majdal Shams came at a difficult moment for ceasefire negotiations in Qatar aimed at clinching a ceasefire and bringing the remaining Hamas-held hostages home.

The Biden administration has for weeks said talks are in their final stages, with no results.

Washington has continued to support Israel despite increasing frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government.

Mr Netanyahu met the Republican delegation during their visit for talks, which the members of Congress said reaffirmed the US-Israeli partnership.

Ms Ernst was among another delegation of congressional leaders that was in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas launched its deadly attack inside Israel.

The Republican from the US state of Iowa joined Democrat Richard Blumenthal in hosting Israeli hostage family members for Mr Netanyahu's controversial address to Congress last month.

Amid appeals from some of the hostage family members for Washington to put more pressure on Mr Netanyahu to agree to a deal with Hamas, Ms Ernst told The National that she “can only imagine the agony that those families are going through” but she would try to “encourage” rather than “pressure” him.