Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

We’ll be closing this live page soon, so scroll back through the feed to read what BBC Verify has been working on since this morning.

Today marks two years since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. We’ve been reviewing satellite imagery to see how Israel’s war launched in response has brought widespread destruction to Gaza, where more than 61,000 people have been killed. The team has also explained what we know about the hostages still being held in Gaza as well as verified footage showing how Israeli strikes have continued as ceasefire talks in Egypt continue. You can read more about this story on the BBC’s main live page.

Our fact-checkers have been keeping a keen eye on Conservative Party conference. After it was revealed that shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick called Handsworth in Birmingham “one of the worst-integrated places“ he had ever been, we’ve looked into the ethnic make-up of the area. The team has also assessed if Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was right to say that her party has raised more money than Labour, the Lib Dems and Reform UK.

Yesterday we reported that the largest oil-processing facility in Russian-occupied Crimea had been targeted by Ukrainian drones and today we brought you the latest satellite images showing a huge plume of smoke rising from a group of fuel tanks at the depot.

And we’ve also unpacked data which shows the average proportion of benefits claimants successfully finding work has continued to fall.

BBC Verify Live will be back tomorrow morning. We hope you’ll join us then.

Two years after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, dozens of hostages still remain in captivity in Gaza.

BBC Verify’s Merlyn Thomas has been examining what we know about them.

Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

Image source, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum

Earlier we told you what we know about the hostages that are still being held in Gaza as well as how many have been returned home.

I’ve been part of a small team keeping track of the status of each hostage. A small team specifically helps avoid duplication, focus our efforts, and makes sure that tracing and distributing the information across the BBC is easier.

Initially, in the immediate aftermath of 7 October we used names being posted to social media as a way of starting a list of those who had been taken into Gaza. Names were being shared in posts by relatives and friends who were issuing pleas for help and information about their loved ones.

Then, as more information came to light, we started logging official updates from the Israeli government and the campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum which represents some of the relatives of those kidnapped.

Each time someone is released in a handover or rescue, along with when bodies are recovered or a hostage is pronounced dead by Israeli authorities, we update our list.

We keep all this information in our own database of names which we have kept updated throughout the conflict and is used by BBC Verify and other BBC colleagues.

Benedict Garman
BBC Verify senior journalist

Earlier I showed you what satellite imagery reveals about the devastation in Gaza City, but I’ve also been examining what aerial pictures show of the damage inflicted on areas further to the south in Gaza.

Most of Rafah has been completely inaccessible to Palestinians for months and satellite imagery shows the city on the Egyptian border has been almost completely razed to the ground by Israeli bombings, demolitions and fighting with Hamas.

Pictures of Khan Younis also show how homes have been reduced to rubble, roads now resemble dirt paths and all greenery seems to have been eradicated.

Below is a comparison of satellite images of both cities taken on 15 October 2023 and 30 September this year.

Tamara Kovacevic
BBC Verify senior journalist

In an interview earlier, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s told LBC she was worried about her party going bankrupt when she first became leader but said they had “outraised all the other parties, in fact raising more than Labour, Lib Dem and Reform combined in some quarters”.

According to data reported to the Electoral Commission, the first part of her claim is accurate. The Conservative Party did raise more money than any other political party in the period since Badenoch took charge in November last year.

The Electoral Commission says parties only have to report donations and loans over a certain threshold, so their figures do not include smaller amounts.

But taking the figures we do have there is no quarter in that period in which donations accepted by the Conservatives exceeded those for the other three parties combined.

Here is what the figures show:

• October to December 2024: The Conservatives raised £1,928,137 against £1,993,535 for the other three parties combined, external
• January to March 2025: £3,362,649 was raised by the Conservatives while the others combined raised £5,353,939 , external
• April to June 2025: The Conservatives raised £2,918,435 while £4,712,909 was the figure for Labour, the Lib Dems and Reform UK, external

Benedict Garman
BBC Verify senior journalist

Over the past two years we've seen the gradual disappearance of most of the buildings in the Gaza Strip, as well as the destruction of much of its farmland and open space - cemeteries, parks, olive groves and woodlands.

At the start of the war - triggered by the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on Israel - individual buildings were being levelled in Israeli air strikes which would show up on satellite imagery as scorch marks and debris where they once stood.

Then it was entire residential blocks, then entire neighbourhoods and then whole towns.

Gaza City - which has been under siege by the Israeli military over the past month or so - is still seeing continued demolitions and bombardment, as we reported earlier today.

In this side-by-side comparison below we can see how two years of war has transformed one small area of Jabalia camp in the north of Gaza City.

Nearly all of the homes and buildings have been destroyed, roads have been severely degraded, and green spaces have been reduced to dirt.

Becky Dale
BBC Verify senior data journalist

New data shows that global electricity produced from renewable sources outpaced coal-fired generation in the first half of 2025, according to energy think tank Ember.

China has been the largest contributor towards achieving this milestone through its rapid expansion of wind and especially solar power.

But coal remains a major source of energy globally.

Incidentally China also has the world’s highest level of energy generated from coal and continues to build new coal plants.

The UK, in contrast, closed its last operating coal power station in 2024 and has been experiencing its own increase in renewable-generated electricity.

Wind power overtook gas in Great Britain last year and solar power has reached record levels already in 2025, external.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

BBC Verify is dedicated to examining the facts and claims behind a story to try to determine whether or not it is true - whether that’s a political statement, a video shared on social media, or images from a war zone.

And we’re also keen to hear from you - is there something you think we should investigate? We're particularly interested in claims you have heard or seen that maybe don’t seem right.

Or perhaps you’ve come across something online and want to know if it was created using AI or even a deepfake.

You can send your suggestions to the team here.

Daniel Wainwright
BBC Verify senior data journalist

Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has defended calling the Handsworth area of Birmingham “one of the worst-integrated places“ he had ever been, in comments reportedly recorded at a dinner and published by the Guardian.

Jenrick also reportedly said he did not see “another white face” during the hour and a half he spent there, prompting criticism.

Here’s what we know about the make-up of Handsworth.

It is one of 16 council wards in England and Wales - out of more than 7,600 - where less than 10% of the population identified as white in the 2021 census, external.

Of the almost 12,000 people who lived in Handsworth at the time of the census just under 9% identified as white.

That compares with just under 49% of people across the whole of Birmingham and 81% for all of England.

As the chart below shows, the most common ethnicity in Birmingham’s Handsworth ward was Asian or Asian British.

Phil Leake
BBC Verify data journalist

The percentage of jobseekers moving into work each month has fallen, according to new data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The average proportion of benefits claimants successfully finding work each month - known as the into work rate - peaked at almost 10% in the middle of 2022 as job vacancies surged to a record high in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

But it’s been falling steadily ever since - dropping below pre-pandemic levels to 7.6% in the year to April.

The number of work coaches in job centres across Great Britain has also declined from a peak of more than 23,000 in March 2021 to just over 16,500 in August this year.

Work coaches are responsible for supporting people into work and ensuring they comply with the conditions of their benefits.

But their caseloads are very high - Mark Byers, a work coach with 15 years’ experience, told the BBC that the relentless churn of 10-minute appointments makes him feel like a “benefits policeman”.

You can read more in the full article here.

Benedict Garman and Kumar Malhotra
BBC Verify

Image source, Instagram

We’ve verified new footage this morning of ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza City while indirect peace talks between Israel and Hamas continue in Egypt.

Two videos show a large plume of smoke in the north of the city, indicating a recent air strike or explosion.

The text on one of the clips mentioned the Nasr neighbourhood, which enabled us to identify the spot it was filmed by looking at visible landmarks and comparing them with satellite imagery.

Another video, filmed just south of the port area, shows two large smoke plumes rising over different parts of Gaza City. The sound of gunfire, the buzzing of drones flying and explosions are constant throughout.

The footage is made up of multiple edits which were all filmed at the same location. We geolocated it by identifying two distinctive gable roofs on school buildings in the distance.

We can also say the light indicates the clips were filmed at dawn and have confirmed the video was first uploaded this morning.

Peter Mwai
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, Telegram

We have verified footage showing fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) driving a vehicle into a Sudanese army air defence base in the besieged city of el-Fasher.

The video suggests the paramilitary group could be making progress in a push to control el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The RSF has laid siege to the city, the last stronghold of the Sudanese government in Darfur, for over a year.In the video, a vehicle is driving along a dirt road towards a gate with a sign containing the phrase "air defence”.

The pillars of the gate are painted with the Sudanese flag, indicating it is a government facility. After the vehicle drives in we can see some of the buildings inside it and a neighbouring compound. We compared these to satellite imagery to confirm it was filmed about 600 metres (1,900 ft) north of the main army headquarters.

The Sudanese military has issued a statement saying it thwarted RSF offensives in El-Fasher. It added the group is using social media to promote its "alleged control" over a military site to "boost their low morale and cover up their repeated defeats".

It is not possible to independently confirm who currently controls the base.

Emma Pengelly, Jamie Ryan and Alex Murray
BBC Verify

Image source, EPA

As indirect ceasefire talks continue in Egypt, the families of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza anxiously wait for news.

Two years ago Hamas and other armed factions attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.

One of Israel’s central war aims has been to free the 255 people being held in Gaza - this figure includes four men held prior to the 7 October 2023 attack.

Currently 48 of them are still in Gaza and Israel has said 20 of them are believed to be alive.

Among the dead hostages whose bodies are still being held is 27-year-old Inbar Hayman, the only woman still captive.

Of the 207 hostages which have been returned to Israel, 140 were handed over alive as part of ceasefire deals or in separate releases. The bodies of eight dead hostages were also handed over.

The bodies of 51 hostages have been recovered in operations carried out by the Israeli military. Eight hostages have been rescued alive by Israeli forces.

Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, Planet Labs PBC

Despite some heavy cloud in the area, we've managed to get our first bird's-eye look at the huge fire at an oil depot in Russian-occupied Crimea. The blaze was caused by a Ukrainian drone strike.

The satellite image, captured by Planet Labs at 12:00 local time (10:00 BST) yesterday morning, shows a large column of smoke rising from a group of fuel tanks on the northern edge of the storage site in Feodosia.

Around 200m (660ft) to the south-west we can see the burnt-out shells of two other oil tanks. This is not fresh damage but rather the result of another strike conducted almost exactly a year ago.

We know this because satellite imagery at the time captured fire burning at that spot one day after the strike last year.

You can read our analysis of the impact of Ukraine's sustained campaign of strikes on Russian oil refineries here.

Image source, Planet Labs PBC

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning from BBC Verify Live.

We reported yesterday on a Ukrainian strike on an oil depot at Feodosia in Russian-occupied Crimea. We’ve seen satellite imagery this morning that vividly captures a huge plume of black smoke at the site. The Feodosia facility was previously attacked almost exactly a year ago.

We’re checking reports that another oil refinery is ablaze - in what could be one of the deepest attacks inside Russia. According to what we’re seeing online a facility at Tyumen in Siberia was struck overnight - that is up to 2,000 km from the border with Ukraine.

As Israel marks the second anniversary of the 7 October attack by Hamas, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage, we’re continuing to follow the situation on the ground inside Gaza.

We’ve also been investigating what has happened to the hostages who were taken into Gaza two years ago today and will bring you more on what we know later. More than 67,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

And our fact-checkers will be listening to shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick when he speaks to the Conservative Party conference later this morning. We’ll see what more he has to say about abolishing the Sentencing Council for England and Wales which issues guidelines to judges.

There’s more from BBC Verify on our pages of the BBC News website.