Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist

Earlier we reported that satellite imagery has captured the presence of Israeli armoured vehicles in eastern areas of Gaza City.

Another part of the same image also shows that camps for displaced people in the vicinity are being dismantled.

Comparing this recent image from 17 August with an earlier one from 8 August, we can see tented areas that have been almost completely cleared in less than two weeks. Similar removals are evident at other camps nearby. There are also signs of that buildings have been recently demolished.

Such camps are a common feature in and around Gaza City, particularly in western areas where there is a high concentration of internally displaced people who have fled fighting elsewhere in the Strip since Israel launched its ground operation after the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas.

Many of those seeking shelter near Gaza City will have come from areas to the north which were flattened during Israeli operations.

Estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are being told to leave Gaza City by the Israeli military and move to the south of the Strip.

Lucy Gilder
BBC Verify journalist

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice has said a “major, major legal precedent that has been set” by a legal ruling which temporarily stops asylum seekers being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.

The judge in the case ruled in favour of Epping Forest District Council after it argued that using the hotel to accommodate asylum seekers was a breach of planning law and that there was a public safety risk.

It found the hotel’s owner had not applied for planning permission for a “material change” in the use of the hotel, which went from hosting weddings and conferences to accommodating about 140 asylum seekers.

The ruling may be appealed against by the Home Office.

But the Epping ruling is not the first time a council has won a legal case against asylum-seeker hotels on planning grounds.

In a legal challenge brought by Great Yarmouth Borough Council in December 2022 a judge noted that using hotels for asylum accommodation in the area would constitute a “material change of use”, external.

Great Yarmouth’s case was helped by a specific planning policy known as “GY6” which protected its seafront area.

Lawyers also noted that one of these hotels was already subject to a special notice which prohibited its change from a hotel to a hostel.

Peter Mwai
BBC Verify senior journalist

We have verified video footage showing the aftermath of a reported Russian drone attack on a fuel and energy facility in the Odesa region, south-west Ukraine.

The video clip, taken during the night, shows a huge fire burning. Reports suggest a chemical tanker was among the targets attacked.

By matching the road, buildings and the trees to satellite imagery we have established that the video was filmed along Nakhimova Street in Izmail, a port city on the River Danube on the border with Romania.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine says a drone attack caused “a large-scale fire“, external at a fuel and energy infrastructure facility in Odesa. One person was injured.

The service also shared images of firefighters battling the fire.

Nasa’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (Firms), which detects active hot spots from space, has picked up heat signatures in the area.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been focusing attacks on each other’s fuel and energy facilities and infrastructure in recent weeks.

Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist

I’ve been looking at satellite images from Gaza, captured on 17 August, which shows at least two gatherings of Israeli armoured vehicles near the Sabra neighbourhood to the east of Gaza City.

Experts from the intelligence analysis firm Maiar have confirmed that the images show at least 11 armoured vehicles which they say are likely to be personnel carriers.

The vehicles were not visible at that location in satellite imagery captured the previous day which suggests this is a recent deployment.

The location is within an area designated a “dangerous combat zone” by the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has approved plans to occupy the Strip’s largest city in an operation codenamed “Gideon’s Chariot II”.

Up to 60,000 reservists are expected to receive call-up papers in the coming days ahead of the offensive being launched.

Lucy Gilder
BBC Verify journalist

This morning we’re looking at where asylum seekers are supported in the UK, following Tuesday’s High Court decision which will temporarily stop people being accommodated in a hotel in Epping, Essex.

After they arrive in the UK, asylum seekers who need it can receive support in the form of food, shelter and financial aid.

There were 106,771 people receiving asylum support at the end of March this year, according to the latest Home Office figures, external.

The vast majority were receiving accommodation support – including 30% who were living in hotels.

The North East and North West of England supported the largest number of asylum seekers as a proportion of their overall population.

The North East supported 2,758 people per million residents and the North West 2,686 people.

The top five local authorities supporting the highest number of asylum seekers at the end of March:

• Glasgow (4,152)
• Hillingdon (2,946)
• Birmingham (2,504)
• Liverpool (2,385)
• Hounslow (2,097)

The highest number of asylum seekers in “contingency accommodation” – which includes hotels and other temporary accommodation – were in the London boroughs of Hillingdon, Hounslow and Barnet.

Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

We’re monitoring social media and messaging apps used by people in Ukraine and Russia following a further night of attacks by both sides.

Ukraine’s emergency services say 14 people including three children were injured in a drone attack on the city of Okhtyrka in the eastern Sumy region.

It also reported attacks in the Donetsk region where one person was killed, and in the Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Poltava regions.

One person was injured after a Russian attack caused a fire at fuel and energy facility in the Odesa region in the far south-west of Ukraine.

We’re working to verify a video of a large fire said to show the aftermath.

Russia has reported drone attacks overnight in nine locations with the majority being detected over Voronezh region in the south-west.

We’ll bring you further updates and verified video as we get it.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning from BBC Verify’s live page team.

We’ve received new satelliteimagery that appears to show initial Israeli preparations for a potentialmilitary offensive against Gaza City. We’re able to compare the latest pictureswith previous imagery to see what has changed and what this might tell us aboutthe build-up. We’ll also monitor social media being posted from inside Gaza toget a picture of the situation on the ground.

Elsewhere, we’re seeingfootage online following further overnight attacks in Ukraine – with reportsthat a fuel and energy site is on fire in the southern port city of Odesa. Ourteam is also verifying reports of a Ukrainian drone attack on Voronezh in south-westRussia.

After the High Courttemporarily blocked the UK government yesterday from using a hotel in Essex tohouse asylum seekers, our data and fact-check teams are digging into the dataon where in the country people are being accommodated.

More on those stories to come- but if you want to check out previous editions of BBC Verify Live – head to our pageson the BBC website.