Sign In  |  Register  |  About Menlo Park  |  Contact Us

Menlo Park, CA
September 01, 2020 1:28pm
7-Day Forecast | Traffic
  • Search Hotels in Menlo Park

  • CHECK-IN:
  • CHECK-OUT:
  • ROOMS:

Ex-NBC correspondent breathes 'huge sigh of relief' as two American relatives are released by Hamas

Veteran NBC News journalist Martin Fletcher reacted to the news that two of his American relatives held hostage in Gaza by Hamas were released on Friday.

Former Israel-based NBC News correspondent Martin Fletcher reacted to the news Friday that two of his wife's relatives who had been taken hostage by Hamas were released.

"My wife has been in touch with her family directly in Israel," Fletcher said Friday on MSNBC. "And she's been told that the hostages are now with the Red Cross in Israel. And that's as much as we know."

"Obviously a huge sigh of relief," Fletcher later said, "and at the same time concerned that there's so many more hostages. And the question being, is this the beginning of a prisoner swap of some kind?" 

LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL AT WAR WITH HAMAS 

Fletcher explained that the American mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan of Evanston, Ill., are distant cousins of his wife but that they are part of a "tight-knit family."

"I can tell you one thing, the family's rallied around them in an extraordinary manner hoping that this would happen. And the fact that it actually happened as a miracle," Fletcher said. 

The veteran journalist, who previously served as NBC News' Tel Aviv bureau chief, speculated that Hamas "suddenly" releasing two American hostages could indicate a "calculated" decision about a potential prisoner swap. 

However, Fletcher also revealed he still has a relative among the remaining hostages as his family buried another relative who was murdered in the Oct. 7 attacks. 

MEDIA HAS EGG ON ITS FACE FOR ALLOWING HAMAS TO SET INITIAL TONE OF GAZA HOSPITAL COVERAGE WITHOUT SKEPTICISM 

Fletcher previously got emotional when he revealed on MSNBC that two of the hostages were family members. 

"We talk about six degrees of separation. So Israel’s a tiny country with one or two degrees of separation, so I just found out today that two of my wife’s family are among the hostages," Fletcher told MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle on Thursday.

MEDIA ACCUSED OF PARROTING HAMAS' TALKING POINTS ON GAZA HOSPITAL BLAST, IDF SPOX SAYS TERROR GROUP ‘LYING’

The Raanans were abducted from the Nahal Oz kibbutz in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip during the Oct. 7 attacks.

A source confirmed to Fox News on Friday that both of Fletcher's family members were released "on humanitarian grounds" following Qatari mediation efforts.

As of Friday, at least 11 Americans are feared to be held captive by Hamas.

For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media.

Data & News supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Stock quotes supplied by Barchart
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
 
 
Copyright © 2010-2020 MenloPark.com & California Media Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.