BBC Verify Live: Assessing Iran and Israel attacks ahead of ceasefire
Date: 10:11 BST
Title: Verifying aftermath of Iran's attack on Israel before ceasefire agreed
Content: Peter MwaiBBC Verify senior journalist
Several pictures - including this one - of Israeli workers at the scene was shared on X by the Israeli ambulance service
We have been using images and videos posted on social media to verify the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel early on Tuesday moments before the Israeli government announced it had agreed to a ceasefire.
The Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom says four people were killed and 22 were wounded in the attack on the southern town of Beersheba.
One of the videos we've verified shows smoke rising into the sky from a location with several high-rise buildings. We have located the footage shared on social media with satellite imagery to an area of Beersheba.
We've also been able to match a pet shop seen in another picture shared on X by Magen David Adom, external of rescuers at the scene which we found was very close to the apartment building that was hit.
Update:
Date: 09:52 BST
Title: Tuesday on BBC Verify Live
Content: Rob CorpBBC Verify Live editor
Good morning.
We're keeping a close eye on developments in the Middle East after Iran and Israel agreed to a US and Qatar-brokered ceasefire. The truce appears to be under strain after Israel accused Iran of launching missiles after they had agreed to stand down. Iran has denied the allegation.
But in the hours before they agreed to stand down both sides continued carrying out attacks with Israeli air raids reported in northern Iran and an Iranian missile hitting southern Israel. The BBC News live page has the latest news and reaction.
We're looking to verify footage from both countries to get an understanding of what was hit in those attacks.
Elsewhere, journalists on the fact-check team are across today's Nato summit where 32 member states will pledge to spend 5% of GDP on national security - the UK among them. They'll be looking at how that spending breaks down in terms of where the money will come from and what it will be spent on.
As ever - if there's something you think BBC Verify should be investigating then do fill in our contact form.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
New West Bank settlement will ‘bury idea of Palestinian state'
Israel has announced it will build an enormous settlement in the West Bank to effectively ' bury the idea of a Palestinian state '. About 3,300 homes would built between Jerusalem and the Jordan border under the plans announced on Thursday, in direct response to British and French plans to recognise an independent Palestine. Critics fear the 'E1' project will effectively cut the West Bank in two, preventing a contiguous body of land that could form the basis of a viable Palestinian state. The plan was first envisaged decades ago but has been on ice mainly because of international pressure, including, most recently, from the Biden administration. However, key Israeli cabinet posts are now filled by religious ultra-nationalists from West Bank communities who have long called for accelerated Jewish settlement of the areas, plus legal annexation by the state of Israel. One of them, Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, announced on Thursday that he plans to approve tenders for thousands homes around the town of Ma'ale Adumim. 'Approval of construction plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and continues the many steps we are taking on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan that we began implementing with the establishment of the government,' he said. This follows a decision by the Security Cabinet in March to build a separate road system in the area that is feared will effectively cut off the central West Bank to Palestinians. Mr Smotrich, who also holds a ministerial position in the defence ministry relating to West Bank matters, said Benjamin Netanyahu supported the plans. He added: 'We will make sure that by September, the hypocritical leaders in Europe will have nothing to recognise.' Israeli ministers had warned it could unilaterally annex the West Bank in retaliation for Western recognition of Palestine outside a broader peace agreement. Both Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have promised to recognise an independent Palestinian state at the September General Assembly meeting of the UN. Mr Macron's declaration was unconditional, whereas Sir Keir's promise of recognition is conditional on Israel failing to take de-escalate the situation in both Gaza and the West Bank, which is very unlikely to happen. Israel branded recognition for Palestine as a 'reward for terrorism'. The Telegraph understands that British and other European diplomats in Jerusalem had advised their governments that, because of the pace of new settlement activity and escalating violence against Palestinians, effective annexation of the West Bank was already taking place. The US has also condemned the moves. The E1 plan has been described as the 'doomsday' settlement, because it threatens to radically reduce the chance of ever finding a two-state solution, even in a future without Mr Netanyahu, who has always opposed a Palestinian state. The project would divide the West Bank into northern and southern regions, preventing the development of a wider Palestinian metropolis connecting East Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah. Activists said the proposal announced on Thursday was not for the original E1 project, but rather for 3,300 housing units in Ma'ale Adumim. Peace Now said the project represented 'an increase of about 33 per cent in the settlement's housing stock'. 'We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed,' the group said. Israel Gantz, the chairman of the Yesha settler group, an umbrella organisation for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, applauded 'another great and historical achievement for the settlement on the eve of the application of sovereignty'. Most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the West Bank and its military occupation over the areas since the 1967 Six Days War as illegal. About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised by most countries but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank. The UN and most world powers say settlement expansion has eroded the viability of a two-state solution by fragmenting Palestinian territory. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area, which it calls Judea and Samaria, and says the settlements provide strategic depth and security.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Starmer and Zelensky ‘agree strong resolve' for peace ahead of Trump-Putin talks
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky have said there is 'strong resolve' for peace in Ukraine and a viable chance of a ceasefire, ahead of highly anticipated talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The two leaders expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of a truce 'as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious' about ending the war, as they met on Wednesday, a Downing Street statement said. In a separate statement, Mr Zelensky said there had been discussions about the security guarantees required to make any deal 'truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killing'. The Prime Minister hosted the Ukrainian president for a private breakfast in No 10 on Thursday as Europe braces for the face-to-face meeting between the US president and his Russian counterpart in Alaska on Friday. European leaders are hopeful about the potential for a peace deal after a joint call with Mr Trump on Wednesday, during which he reportedly told them his goal for the summit was to secure a ceasefire. But concerns linger over the prospect of Kyiv being excluded from negotiations over its own future, and pressured to cede territory, after the US leader suggested any agreement may need to involve 'swapping of land'. Ukraine has already rejected any proposal that would compromise its borders. In a readout of the morning meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky, a Downing Street spokesman said: 'They had a private breakfast, where they discussed yesterday's meetings. 'They agreed there had been a powerful sense of unity and a strong resolve to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.' On Wednesday, Sir Keir co-chaired a virtual meeting of the 'coalition of the willing' – a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine to monitor any deal – where he said there was a 'viable' chance of a truce. Downing Street repeated that language on Thursday, with the caveat that it would require the Russian president to take 'action to prove he is serious about peace'. '(Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky) agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days,' the readout said. The Ukrainian president, who was warmly embraced by the Prime Minister, with a red carpet rolled out for his arrival in Downing Street, said the meeting had been 'good' and 'productive'. But he urged the UK to join PURL- Nato's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative, to provide weapons to Kyiv. 'It is important that, within the framework of the coalition of the willing, we should all be able to achieve effective formats for security cooperation,' he said. 'We also discussed the continuation of support programs for our army and our defense industry. Under any scenario, Ukraine will maintain its strength. 'Keir and I also talked about such mechanisms for weapons supplies as the PURL programme, and I urged the UK to join.' Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage and the UK is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow, he said. 'We're ready to support this, including from the plans we've already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased,' Sir Keir told allies on Wednesday. 'It is important to remind colleagues that we do stand ready also to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary.'
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Israel to approve settlement plan ‘that thwarts Palestinian state'
Israel is expected to approve the construction of settlements on land that would divide the West Bank and East Jerusalem, effectively blocking chances of a contiguous future Palestinian state. One of the two leading extremists and settler figureheads in Israel's government, Bezalel Smotrich, approved plans to build 3,401 houses in an area known as the E1 corridor. The land is home to a large number of Bedouin communities and borders East Jerusalem beyond the Green line, inside the West Bank. The construction would connect Jerusalem to the existing Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, located several miles eastwards. Israel is expected to approve the plan as early as next week. Construction on the E1 area had been frozen for years under international pressure. The land is seen as highly sensitive because of its location and ability to split the West Bank between the north and south. The settlement would also lead to the forced eviction of the Bedouin residents, who have lived under threat of eviction order, demolitions and a lack of access to essential services for decades. • Tim Marshall: Palestinians are prisoners of geography, but statehood is possible But the settler movement has been emboldened by its power in government and the ongoing war in Gaza, where it seeks to rebuild Jewish communities. It is also reacting to announcements by allies, including the UK, France, Australia and others that they will unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state next month. Smotrich, whose spokesman announced the plan under the title 'Burying the idea of a Palestinian state', has been sanctioned by several western countries for incitement of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, including the UK. 'Those around the world trying to recognise a Palestinian state will get our answer on the ground,' Smotrich, the finance minister, said. 'Not in any documents, not in decisions or declarations, but in facts. Facts of homes, neighbourhoods, roads and Jewish families building their lives.' • How Israeli settlers see life in the West Bank: 'This land is ours' While Smotrich is charged with the finance ministry, he is also active within the defence ministry and has authority to approve settlements in the West Bank. He has approved thousands of new housing units, dozens of new outposts and huge swathes of land in the Jordan Valley, overseeing the largest takeover of land since the Oslo Accords. 'They'll keep talking about a Palestinian dream, and we'll keep on building a Jewish reality,' he added. 'A reality that buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there's nothing to recognise and no one to recognise it.' At the time of publication, Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, had not commented on the plan. However, he has in the past approved the building of housing units in the E1 area — including a move in 2020 to build more than 3,000 new units that was halted under American pressure.
