martin fletcher. when you're ready just wave at the camera, and we'll come back to you. again, this is two members of our dear friend martin's family. his wife's family that were taken hostage. we found out about it yesterday, i believe, a couple, maybe 24 hours ago, and he joined my colleague stephanie ruhle a little bit later, and got, you know, understandably pretty emotional in that learning. israel is a very small country, and when we talk about how this affects that country, there's somebody -- everybody knows somebody who is affected in one way or another. they know someone who's family member was murdered. they know someone whose family member was taken hostage. they know someone who has been called up into the reserves or they themselves have been called up into the reserves. it is very small. same thing goes for those in gaza. it is also a very small community, and palestinians who are living abroad also have been directly affected in one way or another by the situation in that region. so it is a tightly knit world out there, and one where the wounds can run rea

going to tell them >> i just hope the remaining hostages come out thank god you're okay. >> okay, martin fletcher for us, martin, thanks >> thank you, tom. >>> and almost from the beginning of this war, president biden and other u.s. officials have said they are doing everything they can to secure the release of those hostages andrea mitchell tonight with an inside look at the diplomatic efforts under way. >> reporter: tonight, the urgent push to get all the hostages released from gaza >> they include men, women, young boys, young girls, elderly people from many nations. >> reporter: secretary of state tony blinken now saying the focus is on the ten additional americans who remain unaccounted for, along with around 200 others >> the urgent work to free every single american, to free all other hostages continues. >> reporter: working with qatar and other countries he visited last week, shuttling around the mideast, pressing them to use their connections to hamas to get the hostages out the freed americans, judith and natali raanan, once they've gotten medical treatment, will be invaluable sources

mediator, tom. >> richard engel leading us off tonight on that breaking news. >>> joining us now is martin fletcher, our former longtime mideast correspondent. those two hostages released today happen to be members of his family. martin, thank you for joining us. i actually want to start right here with this feet they that's world. what do you think when you see it? >> how tired they look, exhausted. look at those eyes. i mean, teenager natali and judith, it's heartbreaking, but they're free and they're safe, and the question is, what traumatic damage has been done? >> take me inside the family. how did you guys find out? how was it circulated? were relatives calling each other? >> yeah, i didn't realize -- i had seen the pictures. i didn't realize they were the family. yeah, suddenly i got a call only yesterday saying that -- who they were, and i got to say that now the family is celebrating obviously because the fear was that maybe there was some kind of physical damage to them. we don't know yet what really happened, but i got to say one thing, families celebrating, i know this sounds incredible

released, the two people released are related to our colleague and form every tel aviv bureau chief martin fletcher this is obviously incredible news for your family. tell us what you know, how you learned of this, and any other details you can. >> well, to be honest, the things are changing so quickly. there's so much confusing information coming from all sources. my wife has been in touch with her family directly in israel, and she's been told that the hostages are now with the red cross inside israel. and that's as much as we know. i don't know whether the family has been officially informed. i would imagine they have been, but i haven't heard that directly. but my wife has been in touch with the family. the hostages with the red cross, inside israel, obviously a huge sigh of relief, and at the same time, concern that there's so many more hostages, and the question being, is this the beginning of a prisoner swap of some kind. >> as you're speaking, martin, we're showing some of the photographs of your relatives on the left side of the screen, can you tell us for people who may not be familiar, w

martin fletcher, thank you as well. ws for your wife's family, the next day. let's hope that you are meeting here tonight in something positive tomorrow. on that note, i wish you all a very good and a safe night. my colleague, alicia menendez continues our breaking news coverage right after the break. don't go anywhere. i needed more from my antidepressant. vraylar helped give it a lift. adding vraylar to an antidepressant... is clinically proven to help relieve overall depression symptoms... ...better than an antidepressant alone. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, as these may be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, weight gain, and high cholesterol may occur. move

those americans related to nbc veteran mideast correspondent veteran mideast correspondent martin fletcher whoill join us w diabetes can serve up a lot of questions, like, "what is your glucose?" and "can you have more carbs?" before you decide... with the freestyle libre 2 system know your glucose level and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. manage your diabetes with more confidence. and lower your a1c. the number one doctor prescribed cgm. freestyle libre 2. try it for free at freestylelibre.us >>> new video after a truck you see right there plowed into a high-end furniture store. this happened about an hour ago it hit a person before driving right into that store, the driver and the person that was hit are expected to be okay. that's the good news. we're working on getting more details. >>> have you heard of first responders saving lives? well, a first responder has performed a different kind of rescue. the 9-year-old invited her entire class to help her celebrate but only two kids showed up. jodi hernandez shows us how a social media post turned it all around. >> sad and then i

martin fletcher also back with us. michael, you have written extensively about war.age, everything that we have seen over the last two hicks? >> well, one thing, and i'm so glad to see our friend martin fletcher back on nbc, even before martin was at nbc in 1973, 50 years ago this week, richard nixon, the president, and head marie kissinger, secretary of state, as martin well knows, and as you know, stephanie, they were trying to preserve the existence of israel, which is a commitment that no goes back 75 years to 1948. but at the same time, what were they worried about? they were worried about that israelis might strike back at their arab neighbors too hard, and that this war might spread. and it might even turn into a direct conflict between major powers, especially the soviet union and the united states. so what we've been seeing joe biden doing is essentially the same thing that american presidents have done at the time at mid east wars in 1967 and 73 and even 1956, which is help make sure israel survives, but at the same time, convince the israelis that these se

. >> those released hostages are related to former nbc correspondent martin fletcher, i want to be speaking with martin in just a moment. meanwhile at home, new developments on an appointment of a new speaker of the house, jim jordan is out. and this is how long the house has now been without a speaker. we're going to have the latest from capitol hill, and then on the legal front, in the perils facing donald trump, this happened. >> please lower your -- kenneth john chesbrough. how do you plead ticket count 15, the conspiracy to commit -- an indictment number 23 se one night a 937. >> guilty. >> that's his former campaign lead advisor now becoming the second lawyer to wanna plead gault, iain agreed to testify in the georgia election conspiracy case. we have several reporters in place for you, from israel to delaware, in washington, covering all these new developments. we're going to begin in tel aviv, with nbc's jay gray. jay, welcome. so, it's my understanding that the trucks from egypt have made it into the rafah crossing, but are then stopped, while supplies from those trucks gets loaded

martin fletcher, as you clearly expressed, a difficult time.you us a wanted to update and share. we appreciate, martin fletcher, you making the time and we wish you and your family well tonight. thank you, sir. meet the jennife. jen x. jen y. and jen z. each planning their future through the chase mobile app. jen x is planning a summer in portugal with some help from j.p. morgan wealth plan. let's go whiskers. jen y is working with a banker to budget for her birthday. you only turn 30 once. and jen z? her credit's golden. hello new apartment. three jens getting ahead with chase. solutions that grow with you. one bank for now. for later. for life. chase. make more of what's yours. i'm jayson. i'm living with hiv and i'm on cabenuva. it helps keep me undetectable. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva is two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. it's really nice not to have to rush home and take a daily hiv pill. don't receive cab

bring back in our former tel aviv bureau chief, former foreign correspondent here at nbc news, martin fletcher. as we've talked about here, these two women that have just been released are members of your extended family. they're relatives of your wife's. they live, of course, in illinois, as we have been talking about here, and without losing sight here, martin, of the 200 other people, roughly, who remain in hamas captivity now, kidnapped by hamas, what an incredible moment for your family here. >> can you believe it? it's like a miracle. we were talking about it yesterday, and we were -- would they be human shields in would they be killed in the invasion? israel's invasion in gaza. anything -- nothing good could possibly happen. and suddenly, bang, what an about-face. although the family are clearly celebrating, and i haven't spoken to them in the last half hour, i imagine because they're on the way to the border to meet natalie and judith. they haven't got time to talk to me. what -- you know? what a moment. but i just need to emphasize it's not over for this family. there's -- they have -

martin fletcher. and martin, i am so sorry to you and your wife. when we come backwee gonna talk about politics. and maybe a little law. former trump lawyer, sydney powell, pleading guilty in the georgia election interference case. our friend, joyce vance who predicted this outcome is here to break down what it means for the former president and the other defendants, and later another day goes by and still there is no speaker of the house after backup landfills. charlie dent and tina miller are here on the latest round of republican chaos. the 11th hour just getting underway on a thursday night that needs a lot of deep breathing. g. ore viable future for our kids, we need to find more sustainable ways of doing things. america's plastic makers are investing billions of dollars in new technologies and creating plastic products that are more recyclable. durable. and dependable. our goal is a cleaner, healthier planet for generations to come. for a better tomorrow, we're focused on making plastics better today. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts

i think this goes to something we were discussing earlier with martin fletcher and others, that a lotthe people were actually interested in peace, dealt with palestinians, were more interested in getting along with the people in gaza than in being adversaries. >> i find this to be a really extraordinary moment. war is filled with pain and horror and mystery. even among all that horror, you can have these moments of humanity. you are showing one on your screen just then. this woman turned to someone she might classify as her enemy and shook his hand. what we say here at the international community of the red cross is that all wars eventually end. in order for a war to end, one side can no longer see the other side as this inhumane, demonic adversary. instead, they have to see them as another human being. it's this handshake right here, i think -- it fills me with hope. clearly, peace is very difficult in this region. when one woman, who was held hostage, can turn to her captor and shake hands and say they treated me well, we view that as a sign that potentially there's space for a path

>> my hat's off to martin fletcher. i've followed him for decades. best if not the best in the region. you're lucky to have him. look, ari. this was more challenging than the two wars that i was -- served in when i was in israel in 1967 and '73. i didn't serve in the military, but i went back to volunteer. israel was surprised, but this was a war between armies. this attack that occurred, you've seen on the torn southern tier of gaza, dastardly attack in its savagery, but more importantly it caught israel off guard for 3 1/2 hours. there was not a battalion, not a corporal, no one with a sub machine gun that was able to defend the people who were being raped, pillaged, murdered, decapitated. and that's just a terrible testament to the failure of the intelligence forces that had built a false sense of security, that somehow or other, because it was a holiday in israel, it would remain a holiday for hamas. >> hamas has put out various communications. they've put out various propaganda. we sift through everything here. i tell viewers what makes air has

he just started crying. >> martin fletcher, thank you so much. we're happy some of your loved ones are home with you. >> thank you. >> martin, thank you. >>> meantime, police in detroit are searching for a suspect on a fatal weekend stabbing of a prominent synagogue leader. investigators stressing they found no evidence of a hate crime in this case, but it comes as communities are ramping up security. there's been anti-semitic incidents since the hamas terrorist attacks. jesse kirsch has more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. no question these are tense times, but police made a point of saying that, so far, they have not found any evidence pointing to anti-semitism as the motive in the alleged murder of this beloved local jewish community leader. samantha was the board president at this synagogue in downtown detroit, and, this morning, it's one of the communities filled with grief. at her funeral on sunday again and again, samantha wall was remembered as one of detroit's brightest lights. >> so deeply wanted peace for this world. you fough

martin fletcher. and martin, i am so sorry to you and your wife. when we come back, we're gonna talk about politics. and maybe a little law. former trump lawyer, sydney powell, pleading guilty in the georgia election interference case. our friend, joyce vance who predicted this outcome is here to break down what it means for the former president and the other defendants, and later another day goes by and still there is no speaker of the house after ckup landfills. charlie dent and tina miller are here on the latest round of republican chaos. the 11th hour just getting underway on a thursday night that needs a lot of deep breathing. there is a better way to manage diabetes. the dexcom g7 continuous glucose monitoring system eliminates painful finger sticks, helps lower a1c, and it's covered by medicare. before using the dexcom g7, i was really frustrated. all of that finger pricking and all that pain, my a1c was still stuck. before dexcom g7, i couldn't enjoy a single meal. i was always trying to outguess my glucose, and it was awful. before dexcom

martin fletcher and jeremy bash, thank you. >>> thank you. the white house is closely monitoring the situation. the president on friday spoke with the families of 14 americans still unaccounted for which are either missing or believed to have been taken hostage by hamas. the biden administration is working to find their loved ones. we have allie raffa with more. >> reporter: good morning, peter. as they brace for the ground invasion by israel into gaza, they believe israel has a right to defend itself and observe the rules of war and attack against hamas. the major concern in the attack on gaza, the estimated 150 people held hostage by hamas. president biden meeting for more than an hour on friday with the families of 14 americans still unaccounted for and believed to be among the hostages. the president updating them on efforts to find and free their loved ones. >> they're going through agony not knowing what the status of their sons or daughters or husbands or wives or children are. you know, it is gut-wrenching. i assured them my personal

martin fletcher and david rohde are still with us. know, israel, you know these people very well, martin. what do you make of this? how is this time different? >> well, in times of war, it's famously said that everybody unites behind the government, and any difficulties there are, any issues they have to wait till the war is over. this time it's a little bit different. the united for sure. that you nation was so divided, so totally divided down the middle, right before the war. it couldn't just stop on a dime. there are many calls now for netanyahu to go. people are saying he should resign. after such a disaster, he should resign. the chief of staff to, coming under a lot of criticism, obviously. netanyahu, one of the reasons that hamas attack to, one assumes, and many reasons, one of, them they must have looked at the situation in israel and seen a divided, confused country. and the country was divided and confused, very simply, because of netanyahu's attempt to change the legal system, and to diminish the powers of the supreme court.

joining us now is martin fletcher, former msn -- sorry, former nbc news correspondent and ten b. what a joyous moment this must be for you and your family, martin. i think we are also happy to have this good news, in what is such a dark, dark moment. i know that they are extended family, but as someone related to them, and as a journalist, what questions do you have for them as they come back to america? >> i don't have any questions. i'm just thankful they are free, a live, apparently healthy, man uri spoke to his daughter. obviously full of questions, but they are going to be traumatized. >> of course. >> i would imagine the first thing they would do, if i was them, i'd get the heck out of dodge. go straight to the airport, come home. they were tourists in israel. they were visiting their grandmother, to celebrate her 85th birthday, when they were taken. >> i do wonder if there is concern about, there's obviously widespread concern about the hostages, and further concerned about the ground invasion and how that complicates the picture of releasing them. given the fact that this

joining us now is martin fletcher, former nbc news correspondent and tel aviv bureau chief, and aaronsenior fellow carnegie endowment for international peace. martin, it seems pretty clear that a ground invasion is imminent. what do you think is going to bs happening in the next hours? >> well, everyone's waiting, and nothing good will happen. the israelis have threatened ground invasions in almost each of the i conflicts that they've had with hamas in the last -- over the last 15 years. a total ground invasion now is what hamas has always been saying that's what they want. they're ready for this. they've goty tunnels all over gaza city, hundreds of miles of them, probably that's where the hostages ares being held, and israel needs to take out those tunnels, about 3 to 4,000 remaining hamas highly trained a fighters, so this is going to be a very bitter ground war when it happens. we're talking about, you know, we're hearing maybe within a few hours it could start. israel gave the local inhabitants 24 hours to get out of the area, and some of them are moving. most of them won't be abl

former correspondent martin fletcher, confirmed the news it's his relatives released live during an nbc news special report. >> the hostages are now with the red cross inside israel. >> reporter: the fate of more than 200 other hostages taken by hamas remains unknown. earlier president biden met with representatives from the european union in israel and ukraine. the sitdown a day after the president took his plea directly to the american people that u.s. support for those two allies should not waver. >> i know the conflicts can seem far away. it's natural to ask, why does this matter to america? >> reporter: the president has asked congress to authorize $105 billion in new aid, more than $61 billion would go to ukraine to help in its fight against russia, more than $14 billion would go to israel. the rest would provide humanitarian assistance. >> hamas and putin share this in common, they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy. >> reporter: trucks of humanitarian aid expected to roll today are still sitting at the egypt/gaza border. the president expects some should

. >> joining us now, white house correspondent martin fletcher. more than 30 years reporting from the region. the president making a direct appeal to the american people. what is the reaction to the speech so far? >> you are right, the president did make the direct appeal saying american leadership is what holds the world together and saying that he felt the investment that he is asking for with this supplemental funding, the request that went in today, is an investment for the safety, the national security of the united states for generations to come. part of his message that related to israel and the funding request of $14 billion is something that there's been a lot of congressional support for, supporting the president in supporting israel. it stands to reason that that support will continue. where we have seen pushback is with ukraine. the support for funding that war effort has been waning in congress and in different parts of the citizenry here in the united states. the largest portion of the $92 billion requested for national security effo

martin fletcher for nbc news. >> important context there.s ahead. >> thanks for be with us. you're watching "nbc news daily". i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up ♪ ♪ i've got symptom relief ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements at 4 weeks. skyrizi is the first and only il-23 inhibitor for crohn's that can deliver both clinical remission and endoscopic improvement. the majority of people on skyrizi achieved long lasting remission at 1 year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease. ask your gastroenterologist how you can take control of your crohn's with skyrizi. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ learn how abbvie could help you save. so i didn't think i

that's martin fletcher's reporting, which remains sadly relevant to so many today.with someone who's work on peace deals. you see him there in a photo, former israeli prime minster ehud barack is next. next. ( ♪♪ ) the first fda-approved rsv vaccine. arexvy is used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. ( ♪♪ ) arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. rsv can be serious. talk to your doctor or pharmacist about arexvy today. rsv? make it arexvy. at humana, we believe your healthcare should evolve with you, and part of that evolution means choosing the right medicare plan for you. humana can

thank you very much, martin fletcher, jeremy, we appreciate you. >>> and we'll have a lot more this hour as our special coverage continues. we're also keeping batch watch on capitol hill after another setback in the race to find the next house speaker. republican congressman anthony d'esposito takes us inside the republican conference next. we're back in 60 seconds. >>> first, a glimpse into the grim reality the citizens of gaza are facing. one surgeon at a gaza city hospital sharing this video diary with us this morning. >> as i'm speaking, there is bombing everywhere around the hospital. it is shaking every minute or few minutes. i don't know what we are going to see today. racking] ♪ (tense music) ♪ one aleve works all day so i can keep working my magic. just one aleve. 12 hours of uninterrupted pain relief. aleve. who do you take it for? (sean) i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro! (jason) sean!e. do you mean this one - the one with titanium? switch to verizon, you can trade in any iphone, and get the new iphone 15 pro on them. (vo) it's your last chance to trade in any iphone fo

martin fletcher, always good to see you in person. very relieved for your family. you so much for coming on. >> thank, you name it. >> joining me now, palestinian american -- his 12 relatives were tragically killed by an israeli airstrike on a greek orthodox church in gaza city on thursday. thank you so much for making time. i know this is a very difficult time for you and your family. first, tell us a little bit about what you've learned about your extended family, why were they at, or how did they end up at that church, seeking refuge? >> thank you for having me, ayman. you know, my father was born in gaza. and i have many family members in the region including in gaza. they had moved there from their houses to the church of -- which is the third oldest church in the world. a few days before hand to really avoid the bombardments that were happening in and around their home. in the neighborhood of -- the church was supposed to be a safe haven for them. many hundreds of palestinian christians and muslims gathered in that church. unfortunately, in such an incredibly

i spoke to martin fletcher, who as you reported, these are some of his relatives.t have gotten today, hearing from his cousins, as he was realizing that the people released might actually be his relatives, he talked about the anguish that he and the families still have for all of the other people hoping to see something similar. but the absolute joy and relief that judith and natalie are possibly on their way home any day now. listen. >> it's extraordinary, really. tears of anguish, turned to joy. then there was that moment of wait a minute, so now they're free, but what conditions are they in? how they've been harmed? are they physically safe? when we saw the photograph that the israeli army released of judith and natalie being released out of gaza by the israelis, they looked okay, physically, as far as we know. but they looked exhausted. >> i asked him if he has any sense, in terms of when they could be home, back in the chicago area, he said he imagines they will take the first flight out, as soon as they can. because he reminded me, they don't live here. they

as are you, martin fletcher, for your insights. thank you so much, my friend. thank you to all of you for watching alex reports. we will see back here at five pm eastern. president biden will address the crisis in the next hour. my friend, lindsey, rajah continues our coverage right now. ja continues our coverage right now. good afternoon. i am lindy reiser in for yasmin vossoughian. breaking news just in the nbc with president biden set to speak at 2:30 this afternoon. just about 30 minutes from now. his first comments that the hamas surprise attack on israel and israel's response. we will have a live report from the white house in just a moment. we will bring you the presidents remarks when they happen. first, the latest. at least 70 people are dead, hundreds more are wounded in israel after hamas forces launched an unprecedented attack by air, land, and see. president biden set to deliver remarks on the situation, which will bring to you live. prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, saying the country isn't a state of war. the israeli military saying an unknown

they are relatives of former nbc news tel aviv bureau chief martin fletcher. >> do you have any insightnto why it was they were the two that were selected? >> i don't. i don't. everybody's asking whether it was the publicity, those two, you know, maybe they were the closest to the boarder and it was simply the easiest to free them when the time came. we don't know what it was yet. >> two convoys carrying water, food, and medical supplies made their way into gaza over the weekend. president biden and benjamin netanyahu promised a continued flow of aid after a phone call on sunday night. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us now from jerusalem. thank you. is there any sense of how long israel would be willing to hotel out before launching this invasion? >> reporter: no clarity of that, no details at all. in fact, the israeli government is not commenting on the timing of its potential ground invasion, whether it will take place, how it might take place, all that we know what's coming out of u.s. sources with u.s. sources confirming the biden administration has been ad

martin fletcher has such a unique perspective. join me tomorrow for "nbc news daily."he world. which i'm against. [ laughs ] my mother and i left vietnam on a fishing boat. greiner: wow. we ended up in a refugee camp. immigrants get it done, right? [ laughs ] yeah. what's sales on a good store? $1,400,000. what?! we know that our margins are slim right now. o'leary: that's a structural problem with this deal. every shark's not gonna like it. i mean, i'll go ahead and do this, even if i have to sell my house. wow! this was just a hobby for us. now it's a nightmare. this is so weird. -- captions by vitac -- ♪♪ narrator: first in the tank is a shoe company that seeks to stay on trend and save you money.

martin fletcher, i've got to say, i republican when i visited the holocaust.ive me -- when i visited auschwitz, i thought auschwitz would give me a better understanding of what happened. of how humanity could lead to the extermination of 6 million jews. i must say, i walked away from auschwitz even more baffled. i wasn't looking at the victims in the pictures. i was looking at the german soldiers standing there, asking how they could do that to another human being. i say that just to say, you were so much closer to this story than any of us. you have spent so much time there. i would guess, of all the time you spent there, it probably gives you no more insight into the events of saturday and what's happening now because there really isn't a parallel, is there, martin? >> um, there is a parallel in a way. i mean, part of my family were killed in auschwitz, as a matter of fact. this is extremely personal, and i think it is partly -- it accounts for the extraordinary rising of anger and sense of futility and sense of vulnerable in israel today. you know, you ment

he served 26 years at the cia, in martin fletcher is back with. israel didn't take seriously this warning from egypt? why didn't u.s. intelligence agency identify the coordinated attack which included on the ground rehearsals and makeshift cities? >> these are all really good questions, i think they will be a commission, certainly in israel to find out what happened in the united states has a lot of questions we know these reports coming out that there was some type of, you know mitt level and a lot of product that that noted there was a possibility of renewed violence. that is something that is not really unusual, i could see how people would not take that all that seriously. bottom line to me on this, is the lack of human intelligence. there's nothing better than having a source inside of hamas, with the terrorist army, 1500 conducting a multi domain attack air land and sea, it is still is amazing to be not, only the nine states but certainly israel, all the regional arab services that nobody was able to pick this up. it's pretty extraordinary.

martin fletcher for nbc news. >> and martin is so right. so much of this is so new and so evil. we've been there for a few days and spoke to the families that suffered the terrorist attack. they're still waiting and still have hope for the love roads are still alive and we still don't know what's going to happen hour by hour it's waiting to see what happens next. >> tom i know it's painful to see it's now. my pleasure of anyone, by the way you can join me tomorrow for nbc news a. daily see more of tom tomorrow's. we'll follow all our reporting on nbc news.com. on nbc news.com. >> good evening, i'm lindsey reiser and we're watching the continuing coverage of the israel-hamas war. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was personally invited president biden to israel for a solidarity trip. and the white house is currently considering a request, according to senior new york official. the invitation comes ahead of a crucial time for americans trying to escape the region. in just a few hours u.s. it is attempting to leave gaza may have their first chance at safe passage since the

certainly an emotional moment for both judith and natalie, for their family as well, for our own martin fletcher as well. they are a member of martin's family. nbc's jesse kirk is standing by for. seven still in illinois where the family is hoping for a reunion soon. if you will. jesse, talk to me about how the community there, is reacting. what we're hearing from the family as well, ahead of their arrival? >> yeah, so, yasmin, just remarkable story, of course. in particular, the timing of this. natalie is 17 years old. her father speaking out last night, saying he will finally be able to sleep as this ordeal is ramping up. he also said that tuesday, october 24th, is her 18th birthday. he's hoping that he will be reunited with her soon. you just imagine the timing of this to be unfolding as it did. natalie and her mother judith, were in southern israel in a kibbutz, visiting family on a kibbutz. they were seen, they were there for the 85th birthday for natalie's grandmother. then they were taken captive by hamas. now, they are now safely back in israel, we're told, as you just showed, they spoke

moments ago, judith and natalie are also family members of our colleague, veteran correspondent martin fletcher. here's what martin told my colleague katy tur about all of this moments ago. >> at the moment the mother and sister -- sorry, the mother and sister are on their way to the border with gaza to meet judith and natalie. they haven't met them yet, as far as we know. but they're on the way. it's going to happen any moment. the family was, of course, was -- the cousin told me shocked, it's happy, unbelievable, we're celebrating. i said, how much are you drinking, and they said we're not celebrating too much yet because we don't know what condition their family members are in. are they hurt, they don't know. so they're not celebrating yet. they're getting ready to celebrate. they're certainly celebrating that they're alive and well. >> that was our colleague, former colleague, nbc news correspondent martin fletcher. >>> when we come back, fulton county district attorney fani willis has secured another, this would be the third and it's a big one, guilty plea in her far-reaching case against

were released because of a program that was on earlier this morning with the great reporter, martin fletcher that announced these were his family members and he broke down in the middle of the talk. it was very moving. we all got moved. hamas realized that they had a great asset on their hands, a lot of publicity, profile. this would generate calls for the united states to put pressure on israel not to proceed with its invasion as it will now -- the narrative now will tray to change. hamas will try to change it. they've been saying all that you heard about our beheading and raping and mutilating people, that was a false narrative. that's what the hamas spokesman said, it was a false narrative and this is the feel-good, generous hamas. look, we're releases hostages. if you want the rest of the hostages released, put pressure on israel not to invade. not to have a ground incursion. the secretary state didn't fall for that in any way. you can see the reporter's questions. they were getting there. isn't this too time too put pressure on israel not to act? he wasn't going for that. he had an impl

let's bring into the conversation, martin fletcher, former nbc news correspondent, and bureau chief inows the region extremely well. martin, it's great to see you, and i'm sorry that it is on this sad day. but you know, here we are again, talking about what has happened, and my first question to you is, what are the conditions that led to this moment in time? >> that's a very, that's a big question. we have like 75 years of israel's existence, and they've been struggling with the palestinians the whole time. look, hamas has been very clear, and it has done -- to any peace process with israel. they want to destroy israel, that is in the hamas charter, we know that very. well and they have been building up, attacking israel, how many times, when you went through the dates recently. i think like five times, there have been five many conflicts, many wars between israel and hamas, over the last 15 years. this, of course, blows everything else out of the water, because it is so huge. it is a complete change in tactics, it's a brilliant, frankly, a brilliant military operation by hamas, coord

martin fletcher, thank you for being with us. still, ahead we're going to look at the politics.ease-fire in the civil war, within their party in order to ignite behind israel. stay tuned. stay tuned (♪♪) your ancestry is so much more than names and dates. (♪♪) c'mon! it's the story of your family - then and now. a story that made your name mean something. a story you're still writing. so discover your heritage. preserve your traditions. represent all that makes you, you. (♪♪) >> welcome back to politicsnation, we are continuing to follow all the breaking news in the conflict in israel. i want to discuss some of political implications of my panel. democratic strategist michael hot and formal republican congressman, david jolly who is also an msnbc contributor. michael this is a new test for the administration's foreign policy team. it also continues to back ukraine and its fight against a russian invasion. how would you rate the white house is handling of the situation so far. >> i know that the vice president and the secretary of defense in the national security adviser have all

. >> let me play a little bit of what martin fletcher had to say.latives, one of the first two hostages to be released. he talked about yocheved lifshitz, this famous photo of her shaking hands with one of her captors. this is what he said earlier today on with andrea mitchell. >> as happy as the family's, it is exactly what the israeli government does not want the world to see. for the israelis, they see this as a pr disaster. the first hostage to parolees goes on camera saying, actually, they treated me well and gave me medication. that is not good for the israel pr machine. with a keep one thing in mind, yocheved lifshitz's has been a snowy hostage in gaza. >> mrs. yocheved lifshitz was also critical of her own government. the washington post described how unprepared israel was for the october 7th attack. the idf did not ta seriously. weerleft to fend for ouelves. the lack of knowledge in the idf severely affected us. they seemed unprepared for. she talked about the long series of tunnels that she was taken through, like a spider web, as she desc

night we found out there are also family members of longtime former nbc foreign correspondent martin fletcher. he's here's what he told us 24 hours ago. >> i just found out today the two of my wife's family are among the hostages. >> i am so sorry. >> so this is a very personal. , a very personal thing. and by the way they are americans. natalie, i'm sorry for bringing this on you, natalie and judith raanan, different evanston, illinois. >> filled with relief, gratitude, and some joy, earlier tonight martin talked about their release with my colleague tom giannis. >> the family is celebrating obviously because they fear there would be physical damage. but i've got to say one thing, family celebrating. i know this sounds incredible. there's another family member who's also in gaza, to. one family member was buried today, killed in the same attack, and another one is still a hostage. >> all the same family? >> all the same family. and this is the story of the families in that part of southern israel. because it was a certain group, kind of people who went to live there in the first place. >> th

the mother and daughter were with martin fletcher. >>> joining us now, michael weiss.at to see you this morning. we have come to you so many times about combat operations in ukraine. talk to us about your assessment as to what you see on the ground now in in israel as it prepares to go into gaza. the u.s. has urged israel to show some restraint. there's some reporting that the u.s. has asked them to hold off the ground invasion entirely. but there's a limit, of course, how long tel aviv will listen to that. what is your sense of when they might go in, and what might it look like? >> thanks, jonathan. i think the issue here is one of three major things. number one, the united states wants to avoid any kind of escalation, particularly any escalation that would draw the u u.s. into direct conflict with iran. u.s. nationality security experts including former intelligence officers tell me if hezbollah should open up a front against israel, there's almost a certainty the united states would become mired in this conflict, which is probably the worst-case scenario that the bi

now, they are extended family members of former nbc bureau chief martin fletcher, who will be speakinging about the release of his family members. secretary blinken saying he hopes this signals the release of more in the days and weeks to come, but actions, not words, speak when it comes specifically from hamas. >> we don't know why hamas chose to release natalie and judith first. i use the word first advisedly. what i can speak to is our incessant efforts from day one to try to get people home, try to get them out of gaza with their families and loved ones. that is continuing as we speak. this is something we're engaged in virtually around the clock. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: and you can hear those chants, bring them home. back here in the bay area, those are the calls for hostages to be released. they are continuing. this rally happened over the weekend in san jose, with an estimated 400 people demanding the 200 israelis kidnapped by hamas be safely return. the search for missing loved ones hitting close to home for many here in the bay area. after the rally at city hall, hundr

>> we've talked to former -- martin fletcher in the last hour. talking about the possibility of the iron dome needing more rocket. we know that israel has not reached out yet to the u.s. for more military aid for any changes to the current aide. are you hearing anything about what the u.s. could be providing or what israel might be needing? >> periodically after these rounds of fighting between israel and hamas that the world have gotten used to or the ten years, israel reaches out to the united states congress and says,. we have fired hundreds of millions of dollars worth of iron dome missile interceptors. we would ask the united states to replenish the supplies. we do not know how many of these missiles israel has fired today. given that there were 3000 rockets, at least, fired over the course of the day, you can assume that is a great, great, number. over the course of the morning in the afternoon we saw trucks driving through here. lindsey, there is what looks like an israeli helicopter coming into land in this field next to us. this is a imp

they are the extended family of former nbc bureau chief martin fletcher.etcher will be speaking on the "today" show later this morning about the release of his family members. secretary blinken says he is hopeful this will be the beginning of the release of more hostages, but at the same time, actions and not words are what speak, particularly when it comes to hamas. >> we don't know why hamas chose to release natalie and judith first. i use the word first advisedly, because we're hopeful that more follow. i can't speak to that. what i can speak to is our incessant efforts from day one to try to get people home, to try to get them out of gaza, back with their families and loved ones. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: and those are the chants to bring them back home here in the bay area. calls for hostages to be released are continuing. this rally happened over the weekend in san jose, after the rally at city hall. hundreds marched through downtown to light candles for those kidnapped. over in oakland yesterday, people also gathered in support of palestinians

the two freed americans are related to former israel based nbc news correspondent martin fletcher.arlier today. >> at the moment, the mother and sister are on the way to the border with gaza to meet judith and natali. they haven't met them yet, as far as we know. but they're on the way. it's going to happen any moment. the family was, of course, the cousin told me, we're shocked. we're happy. it's unbelievable. we're celebrating. i said how much are you drinking? they said we're not celebrating too much yet because we don't know what condition their family members are in. are they hurt? they don't know. they're not celebrating yet but they're getting ready to celebrate. they're certainly celebrating they're alive and well. >> i now want to hoe you that video, as promised. this is the video of the mom and daughter who have now been released. judith raanan and natali raanan. you can see them here. and we blurred out the vision of everyone else. i believe they are with israeli security forces. joining me now are nbc news correspondent hala gorani and john brennan, senior national secu

tomorrow night, nine eastern here right here on msnbc, former israel-based nbc correspondent martin fletcherhis relatives were held hostage by hamas and were released. until then, i am a man, have a good night. have a good night. have a good night. have a good night. have a good night. have a good night. the fash taste you love. plus, superior nutrition. only eggland's best. ♪♪ your heart is the beat of life. if you have heart failure, entrust your heart to entresto, a medicine specifically designed for heart failure. entresto is the #1 heart failure brand prescribed by cardiologists. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. heart failure can change the structure of your heart, so it may not work as well. entresto helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. and with a healthier heart, you can keep on doing what you love. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angi