Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Screenshot.

JNS.org – In a meeting with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the “unbelievable cruelty” of Hamas for holding Israelis captive.

“We are concerned about this unbelievable cruelty,” Netanyahu told Red Cross President Peter Maurer. “We have bodies of our slain soldiers that are kept [by Hamas] and even information about them is kept. And no less important, we have innocent, defenseless Israeli civilians held in Gaza.”

“[They are] kept in a very closed and cruel way,” he added.

Prior to meeting with Netanyahu, Maurer visited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, requesting a meeting with the Israeli civilians held by the terror group. But a senior Hamas official told Israel Hayom, “Israel knows very well what the price is for any information about the Israelis in Gaza,” adding Maurer “heard the movement’s firm position” on the issue.

It’s believed that Hamas is holding three Israeli civilians — Avraham Abera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed and Juma Ibrahim Abu Ghanima — all of whom entered Gaza voluntarily. Hamas is also holding the bodies of two Israeli soldiers — Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin — who were killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.