Two American women from Evanston, Illinois, were taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7th while visiting their grandmother in Israel. Former Israel-based NBC News correspondent Martin Fletcher revealed the news during an MSNBC appearance, but the hostages were released shortly after at 3:15 p.m. The Raanan family is thankful for the safe return of Judith and Natalie and are grateful for the efforts of all those involved in their release.