Overview

• Video released August 3 shows hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David reduced to skeletal frames after more than 660 days in captivity, with David seen digging what appears to be his own grave
• Critics contend that major outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and the BBC downplayed the hostage videos even as they prominently featured unverified images of Palestinian hunger
• An NPR interview with Ilay David contrasted his claim that Hamas intentionally starves its captives against aid agencies’ assessment that Gaza’s food crisis stems from an Israeli blockade
• Letters published in The New York Post invoked Holocaust parallels to lambaste liberal media for bias and to demand urgent action for the remaining hostages
• Families and advocacy groups are calling for unfettered Red Cross access and strengthened reporting standards to document alleged war crimes and hold perpetrators to account