Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday with freed Hamas hostages Sagui Dekel-Chen and Ohad Ben-Ami, according to his office.
He expressed his concern for their well-being and discussed their ongoing process of readjustment and rehabilitation.
The Israeli prime minister told the two men and their wives that it had been necessary to apply “great pressure” to “the Hamas monsters” to secure their release.
Netanyahu had insisted on maximizing the number of living hostages returned to Israel during phase one of the ceasefire, “an effort that succeeded due to our heroic fighters and to determined and prudent decision-making,” the statement continued.
The Israeli premier pledged to continue working tirelessly to secure the return of all remaining hostages, both living and deceased.
Dekel-Chen was freed on Feb. 15, while Ben-Ami was released a week earlier.
Hamas is still holding 63 hostages in Gaza, 27 of whom are believed to be alive.
