The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.
Turkish prosecutors demand Istanbul mayor Imamoglu to be jailed pending trial
Turkish prosecutors have asked a court to jail Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and four of his aides pending trial on terrorism and corruption charges, Imamoglu’s office says.
Imamoglu, a key opposition figure and potential challenger to President Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday. He has denied the charges, calling them “unimaginable accusations and slanders.”
The court is expected to rule on Imamoglu’s detention early on Sunday.
Levin said set to tap Netanyahu loyalist to serve on professional panel needed to approve AG’s firing
Justice Minister Yariv Levin is reportedly slated to appoint Netanyahu loyalist and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to serve on a committee responsible for authorizing the government’s dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
The move is likely to be challenged in court, given that the panel is supposed to be professional and apolitical and Ohana is a member of the ruling coalition trying to fire Baharav-Miara.
The panel in question is supposed to include a spot reserved for a former justice minister. That slot was filled by Dan Meridor, but his tenure has wrapped up, requiring the current justice minister to find someone else to replace him.
While Ohana served as justice minister, legal experts speaking to Haaretz say that the High Court would likely disqualify his appointment to the panel given his current position in politics.
The committee’s approval was needed in order to appoint Baharav-Miara in the first place and its authorization is needed before the government can fire her.
Israel beats Estonia in opening match of its 2026 soccer World Cup qualifying campaign
Israel beat Estonia 2-1 in Hungary tonight in a positive start to its World Cup qualifying campaign.
Maksim Paskotsi put Estonia ahead, only for an own goal by goalkeeper Karl Jakob Hein to bring Israel level before Eli Dasa got Israel’s winner.
Norway, in the same qualifying group as Israel, enjoyed a 5-0 rout at Moldova.
Norway, highly favored to win Group I, features Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland and is captained by Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard.
Israel plays Norway on March 25.
Norway’s third and last World Cup appearance was back in 1998, two years before Haaland was born, but it has high expectations of reaching the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Only the group winners qualify directly for next year’s finals. Second-placed teams advance to a play-off round.
Israeli NBA forward Deni Avdija racks up season high 36 points in Blazers win over Denver
Israeli NBA small forward Deni Avdija had 36 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 128-109 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
The season high for Avdija brings his total number of points over the past six games to 162.
Israeli airstrike reportedly kills Hamas political leader, wife in southern Gaza
An Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis killed Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel, Hamas and Palestinian media reported in the early hours of Sunday.
Pro-Hamas media says the airstrike killed Bardaweel, who is a member of the group’s political office, and also killed his wife.
Israel resumed significant strikes on Gaza on Tuesday, blaming Hamas, while abandoning a ceasefire agreement that began on January 19.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the main aim of the war is to destroy Hamas as a military and governing entity. He has said the aim of the new campaign is to force the group to give up remaining hostages.
Hamas’ de facto government head Essam Addalees and internal security chief Mahmoud Abu Watfa were among those killed by Israeli strikes on Tuesday, in addition to several other officials.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said at least 400 people, more than half of them women and children, were killed on Tuesday. That figure has not been verified and doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.
2 arrested after protesters scuffle with police outside PM’s Jerusalem residence
Police arrest two demonstrators in Jerusalem tonight following a rally for the hostages outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence.
After most demonstrators dispersed, a few dozen protesters marched to the premier’s private residence further down the road, clashing with police after breaking through crowd control barriers. The two arrested demonstrators were taken by police to the Moriah station.
בני הזוג מתנאל ומיכל דויטש מתנועת @change_dir_il נעצרו בתום הרחקת המפגינים ממעון ראש הממשלה ברחוב עזה pic.twitter.com/91gnlvPF0S
— Yanal Jabarin ينال جبارين | ינאל ג׳בארין (@JbareenYanal) March 22, 2025
Earlier in the evening, cops were filmed forcefully shoving marchers as they neared Paris Square, near Netanyahu’s official residence.
A police spokesman says that “some demonstrators violated public order by blocking the intersection, igniting flares, and creating a safety risk for participants and other road users.”
שוטר דוחף מפגינים רנדומליים בתוך קהל גדול של מפגינים
ירושלים 22/03/2025
צילום: @change_dir_il pic.twitter.com/l5fRq2F4KF
— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) March 22, 2025
Images show Iraqi Kurdish diplomat at reception held by Israeli envoy to Germany
Images emerge of Dilshad Barzani, the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq’s representative in Germany, at a Nowruz event hosted last Thursday by Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor at his Berlin residence.
Barzani is the son of legendary Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani, who enjoyed close ties with Israel during his revolts against the central Iraqi government. Dilshad’s brother Masoud — president of Iraqi Kurdistan until 2017 — leads the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region. His nephew Nechirvan is Kurdistan’s current president.
Since 2022, Iraq has had a law on the books criminalizing normalization of ties and any relations, including business ties, with Israel. The legislation says that violation of the law is punishable with a death sentence or life imprisonment.
Last week’s event was also attended by Reiner Haseloff, minister president of the German state Saxony-Anhalt, senior Kurdish leader in Germany Ali Ertan Toprak, and other senior German politicians.
Researchers probing if seal corpse that washed ashore is Julia
The corpse of an adult seal washes up on the beach at Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael in northern Israel.
It is taken for an autopsy and DNA testing at the Super Predator Laboratory of Haifa University’s Maurice Kahn Marine Research Station.
Results will determine whether the seal is Julia, a Mediterranean monk seal who caused a sensation a couple of years ago when she came up on the beach in central Jaffa.
There are roughly 600-700 Mediterranean monk seals left in the world, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, though other estimates put the number even lower. The species is classified as endangered.
Monk seals live an average of 20 to 25 years, with Julia over 20 years old when she came ashore several years ago.