BBC Verify Live: Iran strike on Israel investigated and RAF base protest video checked

How we’re verifying Brize Norton security breach footagepublished at 10:24 British Summer Time
Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist
Image source, Palestine Action on X
A pro-Palestinian activist group has posted a video on social media saying it managed to break into the Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire overnight and spray paint on two military jets, protesting against what it said was the UK’s “participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes“.
We can see from the footage, apparently taken from the helmet cam of a person on an electric scooter, that they approached one of the RAF’s Voyager tanker aircraft and sprayed what appears to be paint into one of its engines.
Our initial assessment is that the footage is genuine because the buildings and concrete apron match satellite imagery of the base and we can also see other grey transport aircraft used by the RAF.
The Ministry of Defence has released a statement following the breach, saying: “We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets. We are working closely with the police who are investigating.”
What we know about the latest Iranian strike on Beershebapublished at 09:56 British Summer Time
Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist
Image source, EPA
We’re working through a wealth of material from Beersheba in southern Israel following a second reported Iranian strike on the city in as many days.
The impact seems to have affected a technology park in the north-east of the city and we can see that several buildings have been damaged.
As we analyse the footage, we’ll seek to establish the exact point of impact and identify the damaged buildings.
Yesterday, the nearby Soroka Hospital was struck by a missile and the Iranian authorities said then that the intended target had been the technology park.
Meanwhile communications restrictions imposed by the Iranian government are continuing, hampering our ability to gather material from inside the country and assess recent Israeli strikes on Iran.
Earlier this morning the internet monitoring organisation Netblocks reported that Iran had been “disconnected from the global internet” for 36 hours with “only a handful of users” able to connect via virtual private networks.
Welcome to Friday’s BBC Verify Livepublished at 09:43 British Summer Time
Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor
Good morning from the team in the BBC’s newsroom in London.
It’s now been justover a week since the conflict between Israel and Iran escalated, and bothsides exchanged further air strikes overnight.
We’re looking into the impact of Israeli air raids overnight targetingTehran and we’ll also continue assessing the aftermath of an Iranian strike ona technology park in Beersheba, southern Israel.
We’re also investigating thelatest reports of deaths near a GazaHumanitarian Foundation aid hub. Witnesses and medicsin Gaza say at least 23 people were shot dead by Israeli forces.
And our data team will beacross today’s Commons vote as MPs get their final say on whether to legaliseassisted dying in England and Wales.