Ricketts: Israel will be doing the world a favor by destroying Hamas

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts launched a new feature he calls Ricketts Replies with a video response to letters he has received.

His first installment released Tuesday regards letters from Linda of Nebraska City and Sheryl of Bellevue regarding Israel’s war against Hamas and rising antisemitism.

Ricketts: “Well, I agree 100 percent with both Linda and Sheryl that this terrible, barbaric atrocity that Hamas committed on Oct. 7 can not remain unanswered.

“Essentially there was a cease fire on Oct. 6 and Hamas broke it, so Israel has declared war on Hamas and wars are horrible things, but Hamas is responsible for everybody who died on Oct. 7 and everybody who has died since then.

“Israel can not tolerate Hamas on its border. And Israel will be doing, not only the state of Israel, but the United States a service and all of humanity by wiping out a terrorist organization by the name of Hamas.”

Ricketts closed identifying Israel as a stable democracy and the United States’ strongest ally in the Middle East and says the United States must stand against antisemitism.

Ricketts Replies was announced in the senator’s weekly column. He will respond on camera each week to letters from constituents.