Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

Thanks for joining us on Friday’s Verify Live.

Earlier we were tracking the major attack on Ukraine’s capital and brought you images from verified videos showing the damage caused.

We also covered an attack inside Russia after a Ukrainian drone strike caused a fire at a substation outside Moscow.

Misinformation has been a key theme this afternoon as we explained why you can trust that a video from Tehran showing two blasts, filmed during the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict, is authentic.

The Israel Defence Forces said it had no comment to make about the strikes on 15 June and has not yet responded to a request for comment on reports in Israel that it is investigating the attack shown in the video.

Our journalist on the late shift will be monitoring internet sources for further developments in Gaza, Ukraine and Russia and will be on hand to respond to potential requests to verify material for other parts of the BBC.

Sebastian Vandermeersch
BBC Verify

We have verified footage showing the aftermath of an Israeli air strike that hit the Mustafa Hafez School in Gaza City in the early hours of 3 July. At least 15 people were reportedly killed and around 20 injured, according to local sources. The school was being used as a shelter by displaced Palestinians.

Night-time footage published by Al Jazeera, external, which was filmed shortly after the strike, shows fires burning throughout the building. Men can be seen carrying out charred bodies, including those of children, and passing buckets of water as they attempt to extinguish the flames and search for survivors. Several of the responders and onlookers appear extremely distressed.

Additional videos filmed after dawn show the scale of the damage with residents sifting through burnt debris and rubble inside and around the school.

We geolocated the incident to the Mustafa Hafez School by matching structural features seen in the videos to satellite imagery. By comparing the night and morning footage, we confirmed they were filmed at the same location. The earliest versions of this footage we’ve found were posted online on the day of the strike.

Israel says its air strikes target Hamas operatives, who it claims hide among the civilian population.

Marco Silva and Nihan Kalle
BBC Verify and BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

For the the past week, hundreds of wildfires have broken out in Turkey, leading to the evacuation of thousands of people. But on social media, posts alleging that the outlawed Kurdish group the PKK is behind them have been getting millions of views.

While Turkish authorities are investigating how the fires started, far-right and ultra-nationalist voices have been claiming the PKK - the Kurdistan Workers' Party - is to blame.

The PKK has called for more autonomy and greater Kurdish rights. It is banned as a terrorist group in Turkey, the EU, UK, and US. In May, it announced it would be laying down its arms and disbanding.

The group has often been accused of starting fires - and one of the PKK’s affiliates is known to have in the past said it carried out arson attacks.

But, of all the posts seen by BBC Verify linking the PKK to the current fires, none provided any credible evidence to back this claim, beyond a screenshot of a 2020 article published on a PKK-affiliated website.

On Thursday, Turkish officials also described as “disinformation” suggestions that the PKK was somehow to blame.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

US President Donald Trump is preparing to sign his key bill on tax and spending into law, after it passed its final hurdle in the US Congress yesterday.

The bill has spending cuts but also tax cuts and there are concerns that it could add even more to America’s rising national debt.

BBC Verify’s Ben Chu looks at the potential impact and why it could matter for the US and the world economy.

Shayan Sardarizadeh & Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify

As well as using our in-house expertise, we do bring in external analysis to inform our reporting. This is especially important when dealing with content that could potentially be an extremely sophisticated AI fake.

That’s why we asked GetReal Security - experts in malicious digital content and deepfake material - to give their opinion of the Tehran CCTV.

GetReal’s Prof Hany Farid told us there wasn’t anything in the later, higher quality version of the video, to suggest AI generation:

Shayan Sardarizadeh & Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify

We’ve been analysing CCTV video of two blasts in Tehran on 15 June during the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel.

The dramatic footage that was published by Iranian media yesterday was shared rapidly online. Shortly afterwards many raised questions about its authenticity.

Working with colleagues in BBC Persian, we’ve been analysing the video frame by frame. Our conclusion is the video is real, and here’s why we can say that.

First, the version that initially went viral was low quality and grainy, which explains why several inconsistencies were visible in the footage - for example, certain sections appeared blurred and ghost-like.

But a higher resolution version of the same footage was posted online later in the day which looked more authentic.

We also found multiple videos posted by Iranian social media users on 15 June showing the aftermath of both attacks. We’ve geolocated the initial explosion to a building on Bahonar Street in Tehran’s Tajrish district and the second, about 100m to the west, at a crossroads.

Aftermath videos filmed by Iranians showed significant damage to buildings and the street, with severe flooding at the crossroads junction, reportedly due to water pipe damage under the road. Iranian media also published images of repair work being carried out at the intersection of the second strike.

The video we’ve seen is by someone filming CCTV footage on another device. We found a photo from December 2022 which shows a surveillance camera in a position which would give us the same point of view.

We’ve also spoken to an expert at GetReal Security for their analysis on signs of AI manipulation. Professor Hany Farid told us that while the low resolution version did bring up questions, the clearer version made it easier to confirm the video is most likely legitimate.

A day after the attack the IDF said it had carried out several strikes on “command centers belonging to the Quds Force of the IRGC and the Iranian military” and shared a graphic of attack locations, external which included the neighbourhood Tajrish.

We’ve confirmed that a number of civilians were killed in the strikes and continue to work to confirm identities.

Shayan Sardarizadeh & Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify

It’s been more than 10 days now since Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire after 12 days of conflict.

Yesterday Iranian media published new CCTV footage purporting to show an attack on Tehran during the war which was widely shared online - one post alone has had 280,000 views on X.

The video captures two explosions on 15 June about 100m apart on Bahonar Street in Tehran’s Tajrish district.

The first blast is at a six-storey building which causes a large cloud of smoke. Moments later, there’s a second explosion which sends cars and concrete flying.

Shortly before the second strike an aerial munition is visible. Weapons expert Trevor Ball told us it was most likely an off-target strike, probably intended to penetrate a building rather than an underground structure.

The day following these strikes, the Israel Defense Forces said, external it had targeted Iranian military “command centres” and posted a map which highlighted, among other locations, Tajrish district.

The emergence of this footage yesterday triggered a debate online - and at BBC Verify and BBC Persian - about its authenticity and whether it could’ve been AI-generated.

We’re confident it is genuine - and we’ll bring you more on the steps we took to check it later.

Shruti Menon
BBC Verify senior journalist

We’ve been looking at footage showing a five-storey building that has collapsed in the Lyari area of the Pakistani city of Karachi. Local police told BBC Urdu that at least five people have been killed.

Police, rescue workers, volunteer groups and locals have been trying to free people trapped under the rubble.

Lyari is a densely populated area with narrow streets and densely-packed old buildings. That made it difficult to geolocate where the exact building was as there is no Google Street View imagery for the area.

By matching images of the incident on the Getty picture wire service with videos on social media, we were able to locate other buildings in the vicinity with Google satellite maps and verified three videos showing the damaged building and rescue operations.

In one video, the damaged building can be seen in the background as rescuers try to clear the rubble brick-by-brick to find survivors.

Another video is filmed from the building next to the collapsed one showing a top-angle shot of the damaged stairwell and the rubble on the ground as the rescue efforts continue.

A third video shows machinery at the scene.

The footage we have verified has also been cross-referenced with the BBC Urdu team covering the story.

Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

Earlier we brought you images of a blast at a petrol station in eastern Rome.

An Italian police spokesperson has now confirmed that 27 people were injured, including 11 members of the emergency services.

According to the Italian news agency Ansa, police, firefighters and rescue workers were at the scene responding to a smaller explosion before the second bigger blast.

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

French police have stopped a small boat from crossing the English Channel to the UK this morning by slashing its inflatable hull.

Officers typically try to intercept boats before they launch, as French maritime law restricts their ability to intervene once vessels are in the water – unless those on board call for help.

But this morning’s incident was in “waist-deep water” according to the BBC’s Andrew Harding, who witnessed it happen on a beach south of Boulogne on France’s Channel coast.

So how often do French police step in?

According to official figures, there have been at least 12,130 instances this year where people were prevented from boarding small boats.

Recently, a gap has emerged between the number of preventions and successful crossings, with nearly 4,800 arrivals in the UK compared with about 2,700 preventions.

The BBC has previously reported on smugglers adapting their methods – including the use of "taxi boats" to ferry people out to vessels waiting just offshore, in an attempt to exploit French legal limits on water-based intervention.

France is now considering legislation to allow police to act once boats are in the water. However, some campaigners warn the move could endanger lives.

Sherie Ryder
BBC Verify journalist

Image source, Telegram

We’ve been reporting this morning on the widespread air strikes against Ukraine but we can see from footage posted on Telegram earlier this morning that Ukrainian forces have also targeted Russia.

In an earlier alert, the Ukrainian military’s general staff said it had carried out a strike at the Research Institute of Applied Chemistry in Sergiyev Posad.

On closer inspection of the footage we could see that the substation, which is very close to the institute, was hit.

Looking at satellite images of the location and cross-referencing with the electricity pylons, trees, and a large building in the background, we were able to confirm that this was the substation at Sergiyev Posad.

To make sure this is not old material being reposted, we carried out reverse image searches. These showed the video was new.

One further check was to note the position of the sun in the sky which confirmed the footage was filmed early in the morning.

Simran Sohal
BBC Verify

Image source, EPA

We’ve been listening to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme who was talking about government attempts to tackle the number of people crossing the Channel on small boats - the latest figures show more than 20,000 have arrived this way so far this year.

“Part of the thing that’s driving these increases is the increased overcrowding of the boats”, she said.

We looked at the latest Home Office statistics to see what they can tell us about overcrowding. The figures show that in June, 5,170 migrants arrived in 80 boats.

In June 2024, 3,041 migrants arrived on 56 boats.

On average, in June 2025 there were 65 people per boat, compared with 54 people per boat in June 2024. This could show overcrowding or it could be explained by people crossing in bigger boats.

Other factors that may also affect the overall small boat migrant numbers include periods of warm weather and calmer seas and the tactics of the people-smuggling gangs. You can read more on this here.

Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, Suspilne

Footage released by Ukraine's national broadcaster shows significant damage, including overturned cars, outside a school building in Kyiv following last night’s large-scale Russian drone attack.

We've identified the location by matching the footage to an existing Google image of the school, which is located around 1.25km (0.8 miles) from the factory we identified earlier this morning.

Other footage shows damage to a residential building elsewhere in the city. Some of the video shows the front of a supermarket which is often a useful guide for geolocation - where we match the position on Google or Yandex maps.

We've identified the supermarket chain by running a reverse image search and looking for similar logos. This confirmed that the chain of supermarkets operates in Ukraine, but we are yet to identify the precise location because their website and social accounts do not include addresses.

Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

Image source, X

This morning we were alerted to reports of a huge explosion in the Italian capital Rome and that a video capturing the blast had been shared on social media and picked up by several local news outlets.

As the video starts it’s clear a fire is already burning before the camera captures flames from a big explosion which causes pedestrians in a nearby road to run for cover.

By matching the road layout, mature trees and signposts to the video we’ve confirmed it was filmed from Via Casilina in the east of Rome. The flames are in the vicinity of a petrol station situated in Via dei Gordiani.

Live traffic data shows us surrounding roads are now closed and the weather in the footage matches conditions in the Italian capital today which means we’re confident the video is of today’s incident.

Italian firefighters have also posted their own footage of the site, showing flames, smouldering remains and wreckage.

Image source, X/Vigili del Fuoco

Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist

Our main focus today is to gather material after a major Russian attack across several districts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv which has injured at least 23 people, according to officials.

Footage sent to us directly shows a sizeable crater at an industrial facility in the west of the city. We ran our usual checks to establish where exactly the footage was filmed and to confirm that it is recent.

That material will now be shared with our colleagues across BBC News and BBC Ukraine who are covering the story.

We're also sifting through other clips from Kyiv to get a sense of the full extent of the attack.

In addition, we're also looking at footage from Russia, where there are reports of Ukrainian drone strikes. Early indications suggest an electrical substation was hit in the city of Sergiyev Posad near Moscow.

Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

Good morning and welcome to our feed today.

This is where we share our verification work, explain how open-sources help us report on conflicts when access to the ground is limited, and where we counter misinformation with our team of fact-checkers.

Here’s what our teams are working on this morning.

• We’re already seeing a lot of videos circulating online showing thick smoke hanging over parts of Kyiv after a night of Russian strikes. Our verification team will be analysing the footage to help us report on the attacks

• In Russia, we’re also seeing video following a reported Ukrainian drone strike on an electrical substation outside Moscow. We’ll bring you more details when we have them

• From Italy’s capital Rome we’re seeing reports of an explosion at a petrol station. We’re working to confirm images appearing to show the explosion

If you've seen something you think BBC Verify should investigate then contact us via this form.