Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they unfolded.
Shin Bet now denying report on probe into Kahanist cops; Ben Gvir urges putting Bar in dock
The Shin Bet denies opening any investigation aimed at rooting out members of outlawed extreme right groups from the police or among the political leadership, after a Channel 12 news report claimed they had opened such a probe, linking the move to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
A statement from the agency clarifies that “there was no Shin Bet investigation on the matter, toward police or politicians, and there is no Shin Bet probe now either.”
The statement says Shin Bet head Ronen Bar clarified the matter with police chief Daniel Levy in a phone call.
The Channel 12 report had included a Shin Bet statement that appeared to at least partially confirm the report, with the agency noting its role in thwarting outlawed Kahanist groups from gaining a foothold in state institutions.
On X, Ben Gvir, a former Kahane disciple, says Bar should be put on trial “for trying to engineer a coup against democracy,” adding that he won’t be satisfied with the Shin Bet’s chief’s firing, currently in the process of being implemented amid a bruising fight with the judiciary.
“Bar is a criminal and a liar,” he alleges.
Hamas confirms senior official killed in hospital attack
Hamas confirms that senior official Ismail Barhoum was killed in an Israeli strike earlier today.
In a statement, the group says Barhoum, a member of the terror group’s political bureau, was killed in an Israeli strike in Nasser hospital in Khan Younis while undergoing treatment there.
Earlier Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the IDF “successfully eliminated” Barhoum, who he says was “the new Hamas prime minister in Gaza, who replaced Issam Da’alis, the previous prime minister who was eliminated a few days ago.”
Out of the 20 members of Hamas’s political bureau elected in 2021, 11 have been assassinated during the war in Gaza, and seven are either certainly or highly likely to be outside the Gaza Strip.
UTJ head Goldknopf denounced over video of him dancing to draft dodger song
Minister of Housing and Construction Yitzhak Goldknopf attends Education, Culture, and Sports Committee meeting at the Knesset, June 19, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Politicians across the political spectrum denounce Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf after a video emerges of the head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party dancing to an anti-Zionist, anti-enlistment anthem at a wedding, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is quick to praise the ally for “disavowing” the ditty.
In a widely distributed clip, Goldknopf can be seen in the middle of a circle of young Haredi men singing that they “don’t believe in the government of infidels” and “won’t show up at their [army] recruitment offices.” The lyrics also include: “We will die and not enlist.”
“This is not the Deep State — it is subversion from within the government that is harming the State of Israel,” says National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, arguing that the only appropriate response to Goldknopf’s actions is “a letter of dismissal and enlistment orders.”
“Any other message is a spit in the faces of IDF soldiers. Only a Zionist consensus government will save Israel’s security,” he tweets.
“Our soldiers are guarding the borders and Minister Goldknopf dances to the evasive anthem,” tweets Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer. “A real prime minister would have fired him this evening. But we only have the fake version of a prime minister. The State of Israel must enact a simple law — if you don’t enlist, then you don’t vote either.”
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid notes the heavy price paid by soldiers on October 7, 2023 and since. “A minister who jumps up [to dance] against the state of Israel should have been fired this evening,” he declares.
But Netanyahu is not doing so because “he is the prime minister of evasion and refusal,” Lapid asserts.
בשלטון הכופרים אין אנו מאמינים. השר יצחק גולדקנופף בריקוד סוער כעת עם בחורי ישיבות שזועקים: 'ובלשכותיהם אין אנו מתייצבים' pic.twitter.com/9ExW6yvkny
— משה ויסברג (@moshe_nayes) March 23, 2025
Some of Goldknopf’s coalition partners also lash out at the Haredi leader.
“A shame and a disgrace,” tweets Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “We can no longer remain silent in the face of Minister Goldknopf’s indifference, disdain, and ungratefulness toward the State of Israel and the heroic IDF fighters. I demand that the Prime Minister summon him for clarification this evening, set a red line for him, and put an end to his disgraceful conduct.”
MK Ohad Tal of Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party accuses Goldknopf of having “gone completely off the rails” and insists that Netanyahu “should show him the door so that anyone who does not believe in the ‘rule of the infidels’ will not dare to be a minister.”
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett dismisses the condemnations by members of the coalition, posting on X that their statements are “worthless” as long as the government transfers “billions [of shekels] in a budget that encourages evasion, thereby placing the entire burden on our reservists.”
“We don’t need your condemnations, but simple action by the government: A complete cessation of evasion budgets.”
Responding to the condemnations, Goldknopf accuses his critics of attempting to sow division and stoke conflict, arguing that while he did not feel comfortable with the song, he did not leave “in order not to offend the groom and his family.”
“Unfortunately, some people have taken advantage of this for incitement, as if I agree with the content of the song. So here it is: I disavow and condemn it,” he writes.
Responding to Goldknopf’s statement, Netanyahu says that the minister “did well to disavow the song that was played at the event he attended and even expressed regret about it.”
“There is no place for songs against serving in the IDF. It is time to unite the forces within against the enemies without,” he tweets.
Goldknopf later issues a stronger renunciation of his actions, acknowledging the footage offended many and saying that “at the height of the dance and the music I didn’t set boundaries, and precisely as someone who helps reservists, fears for the wellbeing of soldiers and prays for their success — I ask for forgiveness.”
“I was obligated to shut down the band immediately and this is what I’ll do going forward,” he adds. “I very much understand those pained [by the images] and apologize.”
Rubio and Netanyahu discuss fighting in Gaza, hostage efforts — US
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated the Trump administration’s support for Israel during a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today, as Israel looked to widen its offensive in Gaza five days after resuming the intensive military campaign.
Rubio “discussed Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, and efforts to help release the hostages and bring them home,” the State Department readout says.
Rubio “also conveyed the administration’s determination to restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea through military operations against the Iranian-backed Houthis,” it adds.
Knesset Finance Committee sends budget to Knesset for final votes
The Knesset Finance Committee has voted to send the 2025 budget for its final two Knesset votes before becoming law, the panel announces in a statement.
The NIS 620 billion ($166 billion) budget must be passed by March 31, or the Knesset will automatically dissolve and new elections will be called.
Committee chair Moshe Gafni says in a statement that the Knesset plenum will begin debating the measure immediately. However, the Knesset committee that sets schedules and procedures earlier announced that the debate on the budget would begin Monday evening, with plans for the final votes on Tuesday afternoon following a marathon all-night debate.
The 2025 budget is over 20 percent larger than last year’s financial plan, which the committee says is largely a product of higher defense outlays. An unprecedented NIS 136 billion is earmarked for defense in the 2025 version.
Vladimir Beliak, an opposition MK on the panel, calls the budget “bad socially and morally,” and expresses worries that it will contribute to Israel’s credit rating dropping and taxes being raised.
While appearing to support the end product of his committee’s work, Gafni calls the budget “extremely tough.”
Katz says targeted Hamas official was new Gazan PM, says campaign widening
Defense Minister Israel Katz confirms the IDF “successfully eliminated” senior Hamas official Ismail Barhoum in a strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis this evening.
Katz hails the IDF and Shin Bet for the strike on Barhoum, who he says was “the new Hamas prime minister in Gaza, who replaced Issam Da’alis, the previous prime minister who was eliminated a few days ago.”
Barhoum was a member of Hamas’s political wing and had been involved in financial activities for the terror group, according to the European Union, which placed sanctions on him last year.
There is no official comment from Hamas, but al-Aqsa News, which is linked to the group, reports that Barhoum was killed in the strike.
The strike on the hospital that killed Barhoum was caught on camera by both Al Jazeera and BBC Arabic.
ع الهواء مباشرة
وأمام العالملحظة قصف مستشفى ناصر على الهواء مباشرة.. pic.twitter.com/8dS8zLB4wK
— Osama Dmour (@OsamaDmour5) March 23, 2025
Katz says the ongoing offensive against Hamas is “expanding,” and vows that Israel will continue its strikes until the hostages are released.
Israel confirms airstrike on Gaza hospital, says it targeted ‘key Hamas terrorist’
The Israeli military confirms hitting Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in an airstrike, saying it targeted a “key Hamas terrorist” using a precision bomb.
The IDF does not name the person it targeted in the hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, but unverified reports from Gaza and the Saudi al-Hadath channel claim it was Ismail Barhoum, a senior member of Hamas’s politburo.
In a joint statement with the Shin Bet, the IDF says the strike was carried out following “an extensive intelligence-gathering process.” It says a “precision munition” was used in order to mitigate harm to civilians.
Palestinian media report an Israeli airstrike targeting the second floor of the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza's Khan Younis.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF. pic.twitter.com/XiIOFPIq3q
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 23, 2025
Israel has long accused Hamas of using Gaza’s hospitals to hide personnel, weapons and command centers, but in the past, the IDF has carried out raids on such facilities with ground troops.
“The Hamas terrorist organization exploits civilian infrastructure while brutally endangering the Gazan population. The cynical use of an active hospital as a shelter for the planning and executing of murderous terrorist attacks is in direct violation of international law,” the statement reads.
Teen seriously injured, possibly from exploding e-cigarette
The Magen David Adom rescue service says a teen is in serious condition and another teen was moderately wounded, reportedly after an electronic cigarette they were using exploded.
The pair, both 14, were hospitalized after being injured while at a park in the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Ata while “likely playing with a flammable material,” MDA says. Responding medics managed to resuscitate the more seriously injured teen, whose heart stopped beating and who is described as having extensive injuries to his upper body.
According to Israel Hayom, police are also investigating the possibility that the two were injured not by an e-cigarette, but after attaching an electric scooter to a merry-go-round as part of a TikTok challenge.
Gazans allege Israeli strike on major Khan Younis hospital
Gazan media reports claim that Israel carried out an airstrike on the second floor of Al-Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the largest hospital in southern Gaza. The reports claim that there are several casualties from the attack.
Videos show a fire breaking out in the hospital, but no footage has emerged showing the strike itself.
There is no comment from the Israel Defense Forces on the alleged strike.
מקורות פלסטיניים טוענים שישראל תקפה את הקומה השנייה של בי"ח נאסר בחאן יונס. אין כרגע תיעוד של תקיפה אלא של שריפה בחלק מהקומה, יש דיווחים על הרוגים ופצועים. היו כמה עדויות בזמן המלחמה שבי"ח נאסר שימש את חמאס כסוג של מפקדה וכמסתור לחטופים. נמתין לראות מה בדיוק קרה שם pic.twitter.com/w7UMTVImqd
— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) March 23, 2025
Shin Bet probing Kahanist infiltration into police ranks
Israeli police officers separate Israelis and Palestinians in a street in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, shortly before a march through the area by Jewish nationalists in Jerusalem Day. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The Shin Bet has been conducting a covert probe into the possible infiltration of Kahanist elements into the police since September 2024, Channel 12 news reports.
The Shin Bet confirms it is examining these concerns.
The report presents a typed note from recently fired Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar in which he says that the agency has “marked the infiltration of Kahanism into the law enforcement agencies as a dangerous phenomenon whose prevention is part of the Shin Bet’s mission.”
Bar was referring to a 2002 law that states that one of the Shin Bet’s tasks is to protect the democratic regime and its institutions.
Bar in his note says that due to the “involvement of political ranks,” stopping such infiltration must be done “wisely and carefully,” likely in reference to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, whose ministry has authority over the police.
Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party is seen as a successor to the banned, racist Kach party founded by the slain far-right leader Rabbi Meir Kahane.
Bar gave instructions to collect evidence and testimony of the involvement of political elements in law enforcement work specifically for “unlawfully exerting force.”
Channel 12 reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed of the probe.
One of Ben Gvir’s senior advisers is Rabbi Bentzi Gopstein, a far-right disciple of Kahane and founder of the anti-miscegenetic Lehava organization, who has been convicted of incitement to racism.
Another of Ben Gvir’s senior advisers is Chanamel Dorfman, a far-right activist who has been previously investigated by the Shin Bet and who has served as the minister’s chief of staff. Dorfman is Gopstein’s son-in-law.
Dorfman was recently questioned by the Department of Internal Police Investigations as part of a probe into a senior West Bank police commander suspected of deliberately ignoring settler violence against Palestinians to please Ben Gvir and earn a possible promotion.
The Shin Bet notes in response to the report that its mission includes dealing with the Kach and Kahane Hai groups, which were outlawed in 1994 and declared to be terrorist organizations in 2016, but which nonetheless continued to be active even following those dates.
It says the agency worked to “uncover” and “thwart” the groups’ activities, “in accordance with its mission under the law.”
“As a result, and as information on the subject is received, the service deals with concerns about the infiltration of these elements into government institutions, and in particular into law enforcement institutions,” it says.
Ben Gvir’s office describes the revelation as “an earthquake,” and says it demonstrates why Bar cannot remain as head of the Shin Bet.
“The head of a clandestine organization that initiates investigations and collects materials against elected officials, defining in advance the goal ‘to collect evidence and testimony of the involvement of the political echelon’ is an immediate danger to democracy, who must immediately flee from any position,” says the statement.
IDF officer jailed for filming female troops in bathroom
An IDF non-commissioned officer in the Northern Command has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for secretly filming female soldiers in restrooms and engaging in inappropriate conduct, according to a Channel 12 news report.
He reportedly used his access to restroom keys to record soldiers on at least six occasions and stored explicit material on his phone.
Additionally, the NCO is accused of assisting a female soldier in falsifying attendance records and forging medical documents to avoid base duties, the report states. Investigators say he maintained an improper relationship with her and also engaged in intimate conversations with other female soldiers.
According to Channel 12, the NCO’s punishment has been increased from seven to 10 months following an appeal by the military prosecution, which argued that the original ruling was too lenient.
Knesset committee green lights NIS 4 billion to rebuild communities near Gaza border
After a marathon of heated debates, the Knesset Economics Committee has approved the Tekuma Bill for its second and third reading in the Knesset.
The bill recognizes the Gaza border area as a region of national focus. It will clear the way for the release of around NIS 4 billion ($1 billion) out of an original NIS 5 billion ($1.3 billion) for development that was frozen while communities outside of the Tekuma belt demanded funds for damage they endured when Hamas terrorists poured into Israel, murdered 1,200 mainly civilians, and abducted 251 to the Gaza Strip.
The remaining NIS 1 billion ($270 million) will be earmarked for those communities. However, specifying which ones will be eligible will be left to the government to decide up to 14 days after passing the law. The list will include the cities of Netivot and Ofakim.
It remains unclear whether it will also embrace a cluster of moshavim located just beyond the Tekuma boundary of seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from the Gaza border.
In a series of last-minute agreements, the Tekuma belt will be exempted from across-the-board cuts planned in the pending 2025 budget.
Moshav Mavki’im, originally included under Tekuma, and then removed, will be reinstated.
The bill enshrines both the powers of the Tekuma Directorate and the funds pledged by the state, which total NIS 19 billion ($5 billion).
Tough sledding for Gal Gadot’s Snow White with ho hum $43 million opening
Gal Gadot stars as the evil queen in Disney's upcoming 'Snow White,' as seen in a trailer released on August 11, 2024. (Video screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The Walt Disney Co.’s live-action, controversy-bedeviled “Snow White” opened in theaters with a sleepy $43 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The much-hyped movie, which stars Israeli actress Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, cost more than $250 million, and Disney had hoped it would be a throwback to its very origins. The 1937 original “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was the company’s first animated feature, and paid for its Burbank studio lot.
But this “Snow White” struggled to find anything like a fairy tale ending. The runup to release was plagued by controversies, including a public spat between Gadot and her co-star Rachel Zegler, an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights who played the titular Snow White.
(L-R) Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot speak onstage during the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
The film also faced a blizzard of criticism over its handling of the dwarfs, who are rendered in CGI. The PR headaches prompted Disney to pull back on its premiere.
Also working against the film, directed by Marc Webb: poor reviews. Critics were largely not impressed with Disney’s latest live-action remake, with reviews coming in just 43% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes.
Overseas, “Snow White” added $44.3 million for a global launch of $87.3 million. But going into the weekend, “Snow White” had been eyeing a worldwide total closer to $100 million – and a few weeks back, expectations were significantly higher.
IDF chief reportedly lobbying to ramp up Gaza offensive
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (center) and IDF Gaza Division chief Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram (left) meet with troops in southern Gaza's Rafah, March 18, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is reportedly pushing to widen the military’s renewed offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Channel 12 news cites Zamir as telling political officials in recent meetings that “Hamas is stalling for time, it’s a strategy, not a tactic.”
“The IDF’s operation hurts [Hamas] and causes some movement, but it doesn’t lead it to release the hostages,” the network cites him as saying.
“Therefore, there is no choice, the pressure must be increased,” Zamir reportedly says.
Hamas battalion chief, deputy commander killed in Gaza airstrikes, IDF says
Two senior Hamas commanders were killed in recent airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, the IDF and Shin Bet say.
According to the army, Ahmad Salman ‘Awj Shimali, the deputy commander of the Gaza City Brigade, and Jamil Omar Jamil Wadiya, the commander of the Shejaiya Battalion, were killed in airstrikes in recent days. The military does not detail where or when they were killed.
According to the IDF, Shimali was “responsible for operations, planning the offensive strategy and building the brigade’s force in preparation for Hamas’s brutal massacre on October 7,” and during the war, he was responsible for the deployment of the brigade’s force.
Wadiya took over the Shejaiya Battalion after his predecessors were killed in December 2023, according to the army. On December 2, 2023, the IDF killed Shejaiya Battalion commander Wissam Farhat and, a week later, killed his replacement Emad Qariqa.
“Wadiya was responsible for deploying the battalion’s forces against IDF troops and operated to restore and reorganize the battalion,” the military says.
The statement adds that Wadiya was also involved in a 2011 anti-tank missile attack on an Israeli school bus driving near the Gaza border. The attack killed 16-year-old Daniel Viflic.
Netanyahu discusses resumption of Gaza fighting with Rubio
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, says the Prime Minister’s Office.
The two discussed attempts to free hostages from captivity in Gaza, and the resumption of combat in the Strip, Netanyahu’s office says.
According to the Israeli readout, Rubio “expresses America’s unequivocal support for Israel and its policies.”
There is no immediate statement from the State Department on the call.
IDF says third division readying to join Gaza offensive
Armored vehicles of the 36th Division are seen at a staging ground in southern Israel, in a handout photo issued by the military on March 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says thousands of troops are preparing to join military operations in Gaza, ramping up the military’s renewed ground offensive against the Hamas terror group, which is currently being carried out with limited forces.
The army’s 36th Division, which spent months in the north and took part in a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, is being redeployed to the Southern Command and has begun preparations for military operations in the Gaza Strip, the IDF says.
Currently, only the IDF’s Gaza Division and 252nd Reserve Division are carrying out operations inside the Gaza Strip. The move will add thousands of more troops to the offensive.
Israel has threatened to expand operations in the Strip as it seeks to pile pressure on Hamas to free hostages still being held in the Strip.
US education czar says Columbia on track to restore federal funding after reforms promised
US Education Secretary Linda McMahon says Columbia University is “on the right track” toward recovering federal funding after the elite New York City university agreed to implement a host of policy changes regarding its approach to Israel studies and Jewish students demanded by the Trump administration.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, McMahon describes “great conversations” she had with Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong.
“She said she knew that this was her responsibility to make sure that children on her campus were safe,” McMahon says. “She wanted to make sure there was no discrimination of any kind. She wanted to address any systemic issues that were identified relative to the antisemitism on campus.”
Armstrong announced Friday that the university would put its Middle East studies department under new supervision and overhaul its rules for protests and student discipline. It also agreed to adopt a new definition of antisemitism and expand “intellectual diversity” by staffing up its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, according to an outline posted on its website.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over how the university handled protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. In order to consider restoring those funds and billions more in future grants, federal officials demanded nine separate changes to the university’s academic and security policies.
Asked whether the university had done enough to secure its funding, McMahon says, “We are on the right track now to make sure the final negotiations to unfreeze that money will be in place.”
Three arrested during demonstration near Netanyahu home — police
Israelis clash with police during a protest against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, March 23, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Police say they arrested three protesters during demonstrations near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem this afternoon.
Clashes broke out between police and demonstrators on Azza Street after protesters attempted to breach crowd control barriers separating them from the premier’s home.
Police forcefully shoved protesters away from the two layers of barricades, pushing many to the ground. One demonstrator hit a Border Police officer in the head, according to a law enforcement spokesman. No serious injuries have been reported.
Demonstrations boasting thousands of people have been ongoing in the capital since last week, sparked by the government’s move to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, coupled with the resumption of fighting in Gaza.
18th monkey found amid smuggled wildlife raids
An apparently abused monkey has been located in the central Israeli Arab town of Tira, the 18th primate located by police amid a crackdown on a suspected wildlife smuggling ring.
Police say they also discovered a pistol and ammunition at the home where the monkey was found.
A 27-year-old resident of the city is arrested for questioning.
Like many of the other wild monkeys confiscated over recent days, mainly from Arab towns and villages, the newest rescue is a guenon likely taken from the wilds of sub-Saharan Africa.
The ongoing swoop has also netted four lion cubs.
Netanyahu appeals to top rabbis in effort to prevent coalition rift over enlistment
File: Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, head of the Slabodka Yeshiva, seen in Bnei Brak, on February 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly held calls recently with leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis in hopes of keeping the United Torah Judaism party in his coalition amid a potential clash over the enlistment of yeshiva students.
According to media reports, Netanyahu spoke with Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the leader of the Belz Hasidic movement, the second-largest Hasidic sect in Israel, and Rabbi Moshe Hirsch, a prominent leader of the non-Hasidic stream of the Israeli ultra-Orthodox community.
Hirsch is one of the deans of Bnei Brak’s Slabodka yeshiva and a member of the Council of Torah Sages for the Degel Hatorah party, which makes up part of the United Torah Judaism party in Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
Netanyahu is working to head off an expected ultimatum by UTJ to withdraw from the government should it fail to pass legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service, the Kikar Hashabbat news site reports.
Writing to the prime minister earlier this month, three MKs belonging to the UTJ’s Agudat Yisrael faction had warned that they would vote against the budget unless a law exempting yeshiva students from mandatory military service was passed first.
However, UTJ chairman Yitzchak Goldknopf appeared to back down following the return of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party to the coalition, which gave Netanyahu room to maneuver around internal dissent.
Instead, the Gur Hasidic rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, reportedly instructed Goldknopf to sign on to an alternate plan to pressure Netanyahu that would see the entire UTJ party united in threatening to withdraw from the government unless it passes an exemption bill within three months.
https://twitter.com/AviMoskov/status/1903834269115396155
A bill dealing with the issue of Haredi IDF service, or the lack thereof, is currently stuck in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, whose chairman, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, has said that the needs of the IDF must come first and that the panel would only advance the legislation if it legitimately addresses those needs.
Any effort to ensure its swift passage would be further complicated by the fact that the Knesset is expected to go on a one-month recess at the beginning of April.
According to Kikar Hashabbat, Netanyahu argued in his calls with Rokeach and Hirsch on Sunday that the three-month timeframe is impractical and that a law regulating enlistment cannot be passed that fast.
Knesset schedules marathon budget debate for Monday night, hopes to vote Tuesday
The Knesset plenum will debate the final two readings of the 2025 state budget in the plenum on Monday evening starting at 8 p.m., the Knesset House Committee decides.
The first 15 hours of the all-night marathon debate will be dedicated to dealing with the numerous reservations to the bill filed by members of the opposition and the final votes will be held Tuesday at noon. Budget bills are often accompanied by thousands of reservations and objections filed by lawmakers.
The schedule is dependent on the Knesset Finance Committee approving the budget for its second and third Knesset readings. The panel is currently debating the bill and is expected to vote this evening to send it to the full plenum.
The deadline for the budget to pass is March 31.
Defiant Schumer says he won’t stand down as Democrat mutiny simmers
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says he won’t resign his post, despite pressure from some in his party after he voted to move forward with a Republican spending bill that avoided a government shutdown.
“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer says in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The New York senator says he knew voting for the bill backed by Republican President Donald Trump would spark “a lot of controversy.”
“I did it out of pure conviction as to what a leader should do and what the right thing for America and my party was,” he says. “People disagree.”
Democrats last week were confronted with two painful options: allowing passage of a bill they believe gave Trump vast discretion on spending decisions or letting funding lapse. After Schumer said he’d vote to advance the spending measure, 10 Democrats supported breaking the party’s filibuster and allowing the bill to pass.
Schumer’s move allowing passage of a bill Democrats has sparked outrage from some party members and progressive activists who have protested at his office and called on him to resign his position. The uproar has prompted Schumer to postpone a tour promoting a new book he wrote on antisemitism.
On ABC’s “This Week,” Vermont Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders criticizes Schumer and other members of Democratic Senate leadership. But he abruptly ends the interview when asked about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who wants to challenge Schumer in a primary, potentially being elected to the Senate.
“I don’t want to talk about inside-the-beltway stuff,” Sanders says.
Sa’ar says attorney general thinks she’s ‘Dutch Boy with finger in dike’
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of ‘harming’ Israel’s democratic process, in lengthy remarks at Sunday’s cabinet meeting ahead of a vote of no-confidence in her, his office says.
Sa’ar, who appointed Baharav-Miara to the post in 2022 while serving as justice minister under then-prime minister Naftali Bennett, says that her claim of “lack of effective cooperation” with the government — which she laid out in a letter earlier today — is “disconnected from reality.”
He says that her letter, which she published in lieu of attending this morning’s meeting, did not address any of the government’s claims against her or the reason it is seeking her dismissal, and was instead “a document of slogans.”
“The role of the attorney general is not to impose their worldview on the government, but to serve the government according to its worldview within the limits of the law,” Sa’ar says.
“It is clear from the letter that the adviser wrote, and not only from that, that she sees herself as that Dutch child with their finger in the dam from the famous children’s book.”
Army eases restrictions on south as Israeli side of Gaza border sees relative calm
Despite the resumption of military activity in the Gaza Strip, the IDF Home Front Command is further easing restrictions on civilians in southern Israel.
Following an assessment, the Home Front Command says it has adjusted the activity scale in the Gaza border communities from “partial activity” to “full activity.”
This means there will be no restrictions on schools and workplaces. Over the past week, schools and workplaces were only allowed to open if an adequate bomb shelter could be reached in time.
Gatherings are limited, however, to 2,000 people in several communities close to the Strip. Gatherings had been capped at 500 indoors and 100 outdoors over the past week.
There have been just two rocket attacks from Gaza since Israel resumed its military campaign. Hamas on Thursday launched three long-range rockets at central Israel, and on Friday fired two rockets at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon.
MKs okay NIS 136 billion for defense, with focus on securing border with Jordan
Lawmakers have approved a 2025 defense budget of NIS 136 billion ($36.5 billion), including hundreds of millions of shekels for security along the Jordanian border “in order to stop smuggling and infiltration,” the Knesset Joint Defense Budget Committee announces.
“Away from the spotlight and media reports, we have now concluded the defense budget discussions,” says Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the joint committee, which is comprised of members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense and Finance Committees.
“I am proud to announce that we have added a significant budget to the Defense Ministry Rehabilitation Department so that we can provide the best care and treatment to the victims of the war, both physically and mentally. We also approved the allocation of hundreds of millions of shekels to establish security measures on the eastern border of the State of Israel, to stop smuggling and infiltration from there,” Edelstein says.
The committee held 24 discussions, and hearings from the heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad and other agencies as well as from Brigadier General (Res.) Prof. Jacob Nagel, who heads a special panel appointed by the government last year to make long-term recommendations on the security budget in the coming decade.
Tent-toting protesters mass outside PM’s private residence; 2 said arrested in clashes
A protester on Jerusalem’s Azza Street holds a sign reading, ‘The Office of the Prime Minister of Qatar,' during a protest in Jerusalem on March 23, 2025. (Sagiv Shifman/ Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Police have arrested two protesters during clashes outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in central Jerusalem, according to a network of lawyers representing detained anti-government protesters. They have been taken to a police station for questioning, the attorneys say.
There is no immediate comment from police.
Meanwhile, thousands of protesters are streaming toward Jerusalem’s Azza Road from the direction of the Knesset, many of them carrying tents they plan to set up as part of an overnight protest encampment near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence on the busy street.
Holding Israeli flags and bullhorns, demonstrators blow horns, chant slogans and hold pictures of hostages.
They also sing a familiar song from Hanukkah, “Though the night is cold and dark/ In our soul, there lies a spark.”
Top Trump official Waltz: Iran must fully dismantle nuke program, not only curb enrichment
After US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff said Friday that President Donald Trump, in his letter to Iran’s supreme leader, proposed creating a program to verify that Tehran does not weaponize its nuclear material, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz clarifies that Washington wants Iran’s nuclear program dismantled completely.
“Full dismantlement,” Waltz tells CBS’s “Face the Nation,” after being asked to clarify the Trump administration’s position. “Iran has to give up its program in a way that the entire world can see.”
“All options are on the table, and it is time for Iran to walk away completely from its desire to have a nuclear weapon,” he adds.
Asked about the recent US strikes against the Houthis, Waltz says they have killed key members of the Yemen rebel group’s leadership.
“We’ve hit their headquarters, we’ve hit communications nodes, weapons factories, and even some of their over-the-water drone production facilities just in the last couple of days,” he says, knocking the previous administration for not responding forcefully enough against the Iran-backed group.
Waltz says the Houthis continue to threaten key shipping lanes through the Red Sea. “The last time one of our destroyers went through the straits there, it was attacked 23 times. Seventy-five percent of our US-flagged shipping now has to go around the southern coast of Africa, rather than going through the Suez Canal.”
“Keeping trade and commerce open is a fundamental aspect of our national security,” he adds.
Chikli demands UTJ head be booted over claim resources being funneled to ultra-Orthodox
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli repeats his demand for the dismissal of Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, accusing him of harming the general public to benefit Haredi Jews.
Chikli says remarks from Goldknopf during a conference in Beit Shemesh last week that he was steering resources toward the ultra-Orthodox community at the expense of the general public constitute “malicious discrimination against the general public” for which he should be ousted.
According to financial daily The Marker, so far this year, the Israel Land Authority has only issued tenders for housing in Beit Shemesh aimed at the ultra-Orthodox market.
Responding to Chikli, Goldknopf says he will send his fellow ministers a detailed explanation of his policies and tweets that he “would like to apologize for the way I expressed myself in my speech last Wednesday.”
“To be clear, the Ministry of Construction and Housing operates in accordance with the law, and contrary to how vested interests sought to interpret my words – nothing was done in violation of the rules,” he writes, insisting that his ministry “works for the benefit of all communities in the State of Israel.”
Deputy Transportation Minister Uri Maklev, also of UTJ, says that Goldknopf was engaged in “affirmative action” in a city “where the Haredi community was excluded,” the ultra-Orthodox news site Behadrei Haredim reports.
Chikli has been calling for Goldknopf’s ouster since Friday.
Protesters, cops clash at barricades outside Netanyahu home
Police are clashing with anti-government protesters attempting to break through crowd control barricades near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem.
Police and border police officers shove demonstrators away from the two layers of barricades separating them from Netanyahu’s home.
No arrests have been witnessed so far.
Protesters set up tents on the street near the barricades earlier, and an organizer with a megaphone vows to remain sitting on the asphalt.
Police, border cops clash with protesters trying to break thru barricades on Azza st pic.twitter.com/3WxIDXPLgl
— charlie summers (@cbsu03) March 23, 2025
Hostage sit-in grows outside Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem
Shift 101 demonstrators on Jerusalem's Azza Road on March 23, 2025. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)
Hundreds of silent protesters are joining a Shift 101 sit-in rally, outside the Hostages Families tent on Jerusalem’s Azza Road, near the prime minister’s official, though unused, residence.
Many walked to the area from the Knesset compound, where anti-government protests are being held, and are joined by others, wearing white and sitting silently in the street, except when someone gets up to speak.
Adina Bar Shalom, a political activist and daughter of the late Shas party founder and figurehead Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, tells the group that there is nothing more holy than saving lives, and that anyone who saves a life is as if they have saved an entire world.
“Our world without the hostages is not complete,” says Bar Shalom, who says they all must be brought home in one release.
Niva Wenkert, mother of released hostage Omer Wenkert, who sat at many Shift 101 rallies when her son was still held hostage, tells the gathering that she still has 59 family members held hostage in Gaza.
Other protesters keep joining the demonstration, some arriving with kids from school, others coming from work.
The entire area of Azza Road, from the prime minister’s private residence and all roads leading to the area , is closed off by police blockades.
Witkoff says Hamas may have tricked him into thinking it was game for deal
Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy for the Middle East, speaks with reporters at the White House, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff says Hamas may have “duped” him earlier this month, as he initially thought the terror group had agreed to his bridge proposal to extend the ceasefire in Gaza, only for it to pull back.
“I thought we had an acceptable deal. I even thought we had an approval from Hamas. Maybe that’s just me getting duped. I thought we were there, and evidently we weren’t,” Witkoff tells ‘Fox News Sunday,’ reflecting on his March 12 visit to Doha where he presented his bridge proposal
The bridge proposal would have seen the ceasefire extended through April 19 and have Hamas release five living hostages in exchange for a larger number of Palestinian security prisoners. Israel says it accepted Witkoff’s proposal, but said it would have freed 11 living hostages.
Hamas has insisted on sticking to the original terms of the deal, which was supposed to begin its second phase at the beginning of March. For a month, though, Israel refused to enter talks on the specific terms of phase two, as the stage’s general framework requires it to fully withdraw from Gaza and agree to a permanent end of the war.
In submitting his bridge proposal earlier this month, Witkoff accepted Israel’s aversion to phase two.
Hamas on March 14 offered to release the last living American hostage and the bodies of four other US citizens, but Witkoff called the response a non-starter. Four days later, Israel resumed fighting in Gaza, collapsing the ceasefire after two months.
“This is on Hamas. The United States stands with the State of Israel. That’s a 100% commitment,” Witkoff tells Fox. “We’ve expressed that Hamas had every opportunity to demilitarize, to accept the bridging proposal that would have given us a 40- or 50-day ceasefire where we could have discussed demilitarization and a final truce. There were all kinds of opportunities to do that, and they elected not to.”
“This (war) becomes the alternative, and it is unfortunate,” he adds.
Witkoff clarifies that the US would still be “amenable” if Hamas reached out again. “I certainly hope we get everybody back to the table and get the hostages home,” he says.
On Friday, though, Witkoff told Tucker Carlson that the parties were already “talking,” after Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza.
Asked about Iran, Witkoff reiterates what he told Carlson’s podcast on Friday about US President Donald Trump’s letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Al Khamenei
“Our signal to Hamas and to Iran, is. ‘Let’s sit down and see if we can through diplomacy get to the right place.’ If we can, we’re prepared to do that. If we can’t, the alternative is not a great alternative,” Witkoff says.
He adds that Iran cannot be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Israel says senior Hamas member Bardawil killed in Khan Younis strike
Senior Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil. (Courtesy)
The IDF confirms killing Salah al-Bardawil, a member of Hamas’s politburo, in an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis last night.
According to the military, Bardawil, who headed the terror group’s planning and development ministry, led Hamas’s strategic and military planning.
His killing is a “blow to the functioning of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities,” the IDF adds.
Palestinians condemn move to recognize new West Bank settlements
The Palestinian foreign ministry says Israel’s decision to retroactively authorize 13 new settlement neighborhoods and recognize them as new settlements shows “disregard for international legitimacy and its resolutions.”
In its statement, the Palestinian foreign ministry links the move to an ongoing major Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank, saying it is accompanied by “an unprecedented escalation in the confiscation of Palestinian lands.”
Hamas also speaks out, saying it “strongly condemns” remarks from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailing the decision as bolstering Israeli claims over the West Bank. The terror group describes his comments as proof that settlements were a “racist replacement project.”
The Yesha Council, an umbrella organization for the municipal councils of West Bank settlements, thanks Smotrich for pushing for the cabinet decision, praising the “normalization” of settlement expansion.
Netivot man suspected of spying on nuclear research center, Haifa port for Iran
A 65-year-old man was arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Iran, the police and Shin Bet say.
Prosecutors in the Southern District Attorney’s Office say they plan to indict Netivot resident Edward Yusupov tomorrow on charges of contact with agents from an enemy country.
Yusupov allegedly took photos of IDF bases, the Haifa Port, Israel’s nuclear research center in the Negev and other sensitive sites at the behest of an Azerbaijani national whom police suspect is an Iranian agent. He intended to transfer the pictures to his handler, officials allege.
The suspect went so far as to rent an apartment overlooking the Haifa Port for the agent’s “operational needs,” police add.
Police say he received tens of thousands of dollars for the tasks he carried out.
Army says dozens of terror operatives killed in Gaza over last few days
Palestinians inspect the rubble and debris at the site of Israeli strikes the night before in the central Gaza Strip on March 23, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)
The military says dozens of terror operatives have been killed during operations in the Gaza Strip in recent days.
In a statement, the IDF says that troops of the 252nd Reserve Division and Gaza Division have been operating in several areas of Gaza to expand Israel’s buffer zone along the border with the Strip.
IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the military on March 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
Amid the operations, troops have killed dozens of operatives and destroyed terror infrastructure, including rocket launchers, the military says.
The IDF says Israeli Air Force fighter jets, drones and helicopters, as well as Navy vessels, carried out strikes on numerous targets in Gaza, including as support for the ground forces.
IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the military on March 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
Hamas has said that nearly 700 people have been killed by Israel since the military resumed its military activity in Gaza last week. The figure has not been verified and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Elected officials must obey court, Herzog says in comments aimed at lawmakers
President Isaac Herzog delivers remarks in Jerusalem on March 23, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)
President Isaac Herzog says that the law cannot be violated, nor can court orders be ignored, in a critique of the government’s attempts to oust Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Speaking at the Applebaum Prize ceremony for paramedics in the IDF reserves and security forces, he says elected officials should follow three rules: “There is not and will not be a civil war, and it is forbidden to talk about a civil war. Two — there is not and will not be a violation of the law, and three — there is not and will not be a violation of a court order.”
Failing to follow those three guidelines, argues Herzog, will lead the Israeli “dismantling our country.”
“What level of madness can we reach as a nation?” Herzog asks.
Senior ministers have promised to defy the High Court of Justice if it blocks the cabinet’s unanimous decision on Thursday night to fire Bar. Baharav-Miara, who is also facing dismissal by the cabinet, has warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he could not fire Bar before her office reviewed his motives for doing so, amid a Shin Bet investigation into the premier’s aides and their alleged ties to Qatar.
Herzog says that he believes most Israelis reject the “evil spirit” of partisanship gripping the country.
“They believe in something else, that they are not willing to accept the division and the factions and the quarrels and the shouting and the riots, but want the people of Israel to continue together because it is threatened by truly terrible enemies from the outside,” says the president.
Hezbollah member killed in drone strike — IDF
The IDF says it killed a Hezbollah operative in a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab earlier today.
No further details are given by the army.
A picture published by Lebanese media shows the burnt-out husk of a car apparently hit in the strike.
صورة للسيارة المستهدفة في عيتا الشعب pic.twitter.com/pZNrsTnZfj
— MTV Lebanon News (@MTVLebanonNews) March 23, 2025
Israel says attack on French rabbi ‘intolerable’; Macron offers support
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar expresses shock following reports of an attack on the chief rabbi of Orléans, France.
“This is a vile and intolerable act,” Sa’ar writes in a post on X.
Rabbi Arié Engelberg was physically attacked and subjected to antisemitic slurs by an assailant while walking with his young son in the center of the French city on Saturday evening, according to local media reports.
“The resurgence of antisemitism in France and across Europe is not only alarming — it is a wake-up call to European governments, leaders, and civil society,” Sa’ar adds.
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemns the act in a post on X, writing, “The attack on Rabbi Arié Engelberg in Orléans shocks us all. I offer him, his son, and all our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith my full support and that of the nation… We will not give in to silence or inaction.”
Democrats chair Golan says government ‘parted ways with logic’ by moving to dismiss AG
The Democrats chair Yair Golan speaks during a rally against the Israeli government at Habima Square, March 22, 2025. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)
The government has “parted ways with logic” and “does not stop at red lights,” Yair Golan, chairman of The Democrats opposition party, declares after ministers unanimously vote in favor of a no-confidence motion against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
“The government that unanimously approved the dismissal of the attorney general unanimously approves the burial of democracy,” he tweets. “They will find a determined people facing them, a people determined to fight and win.”
At IDF draft center, PM says Israel defeating enemies with ‘tremendous crushing force’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz visit the IDF induction center, on March 23, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)
Visiting the IDF induction center to speak with soldiers enlisting into the Armored Corps, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel is winning “because we understand that in order to defeat our enemies, those who are closing in on us, we smash through them with crushing force on the ground,” he says.
“We are bringing tremendous crushing force,” he says, adding that Israel “will complete this victory as soon as possible.”
Netanyahu is joined by Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Justice minister demands AG submit resignation of her own accord, says there’s ‘no way’ to restore trust
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, right, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attend a farewell ceremony for then-acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, October 1, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Pool)
Ministers’ unanimous support of a no-confidence vote against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara shows that “there is no way in which effective cooperation can exist between the attorney general and the government, and there is no way to restore the relationship of trust that no longer exists,” Justice Minister Yariv Levin says following Sunday’s vote.
“This situation is seriously damaging the functioning of the government and its ability to implement its policies,” Levin says, adding that he now intends to reach out to a five-member public committee headed by retired Supreme Court president Asher Grunis, which is responsible for appointing, and to a large extent, firing, the attorney general.
Following consultations with the committee, Levin will then “bring a proposal on this matter to the government,” he says.
Slamming Baharav-Miara for declining to attend today’s cabinet meeting, Levin states that he expects her “to do what any person of integrity would do in such a situation, and submit her resignation immediately” in order to allow for the selection of a replacement “without delay.”
High Court justices Amit, Sohlberg and Barak-Erez to hear petitions against Shin Bet chief’s dismissal on April 8
Outgoing Acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman with incoming Acting Supreme Court President Isaac Amit (L) and Justice Noam Sohlberg (R) at a farewell ceremony for Vogelman at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, October 1, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Pool)
The High Court of Justice sets a date of April 8 to hear petitions against the government’s decision to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
A slew of petitions were filed to the High Court following the Thursday night decision to dismiss Bar, claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the entire government had a conflict of interest in firing the Shin Bet head, due to the agency’s ongoing investigation into allegedly unlawful ties between close aides to Netanyahu and Qatar.
The panel as it stands at present is configured with three justices, including Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, incoming Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg, and Justice Daphne Barak-Erez.
Both Amit and Barak-Erez are staunch liberals, while Sohlberg is a staunch conservative.
In some cases of heightened impact and consequence, the High Court panel itself may decide to increase the number of judges presiding over a case.
Hundreds protest plans to fire key officials, outside PM’s Jerusalem residence
Protesters demonstrate outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence on Azza Street, Jerusalem, March 23, 2025. (Yair Palti/ Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Hundreds of protesters are demonstrating outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence, against the government’s efforts to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
The demonstrators march from outside the Prime Minister’s Office to Azza Street, where they are met by dozens of police manning two layers of crowd control barricades.
Hundreds of anti-government protesters arrive outside Netanyahu's private residence in Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/0avWp0f8VL
— charlie summers (@cbsu03) March 23, 2025
Anti-government activist Moshe Radman gives an impromptu speech, decrying the cabinet’s recent vote in favor of a no-confidence motion against Baharav-Miara. “We want to tell the attorney general: ‘You arent alone — we are with you!'” he shouts, as protesters erupt once more into chanting.
Dermer to discuss Israeli military control of Gaza with senior US officials, Israeli official tells ToI
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer attends a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 22, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
During his visit to Washington, DC, this week, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will discuss a plan for Israeli military control over the Gaza Strip with senior US officials, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel. The plan will include the IDF distributing aid.
The Prime Minister’s Office declines to comment on the content of Dermer’s meetings with US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and other senior intelligence, defense, and diplomatic officials.
As of last week, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi was slated to fly as well, but he will not be making the trip, says the PMO without offering a reason for the change.
Dermer will take off for Washington today.
According to Walla, Dermer will lead a delegation from the National Security Council, the IDF, the Mossad, the Foreign Ministry, and the Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel has until now avoided pushing for military rule of the Gaza Strip, but with a new IDF chief of staff and defense minister — not to mention a new president in the White House — Israel’s thinking appears to have changed.
Israeli officials tell The Washington Post that an invasion and occupation of Gaza would demand up to five IDF divisions.
Liberman accuses government of planning AG’s dismissal to ‘distract’ from other issues
The government’s efforts to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara are intended to “distract attention” from other issues, such as the hostages, the “evasion law,” the state budget, alleged ties between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides and Qatar, and the resumption of missile attacks on Israel, says Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman.
In a post on X following a unanimous cabinet vote in favor of a no-confidence motion against Baharav-Miara, Liberman states that the October 7 government “is endangering the security of the State of Israel.”
Israeli cabinet unanimously votes no confidence in attorney general, beginning formal process of her dismissal
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara (center) and Justice Minister Yariv Levin (right) at a farewell ceremony for retiring acting Supreme Court president Uzi Vogelman, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, October 1, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet votes unanimously in favor of a no-confidence motion against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, paving the way for her dismissal.
Writing to the cabinet ahead of Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Baharav-Miara stated that the motion was legally irrelevant and would have no bearing on the government’s efforts to remove her from office.
The no-confidence motion is not legally part of the impeachment process — which requires the convening of a five-member public committee responsible for appointing, and to a large extent, firing, the attorney general. But it marks the government’s formal adoption of the process intended to end in her dismissal.
Security cabinet designates 13 existing West Bank settlement neighborhoods as independent settlements, with their own councils, eased funding
View of the Israeli outpost of Shvut Rachel, in the West Bank, January 30, 2023. (Nasser Ishtayeh/ Flash90)
The security cabinet approves a decision to split off 13 so-called “neighborhoods” of existing West Bank settlements from their “mother settlements,” thereby turning them into 13 independent settlements.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advanced the security cabinet’s decision in his additional role as minister in the Defense Ministry, describes the move as an important step to the path of “de facto [Israeli] sovereignty” over the West Bank.
The “neighborhoods” in question were built many years, and even decades, ago, as illegal settlement outposts, that is, without formal cabinet approval.
Some of these outposts were retroactively legalized by the government by way of approving building plans for the construction of a new neighborhood for an authorized and legal settlement at the site of the illegal outpost, even when, as in many cases, that outpost was several kilometers from the original settlement.
This was all done at a time when Israel was cautious about the diplomatic consequences of settlement expansion, and therefore built the so-called settlement “neighborhoods” to disguise the reality of settlement expansion.
The decision now to formally split off the neighborhoods as new settlements allows the government to provide budgets for each of the new settlements individually, as opposed to designating money for it through its old mother settlement. They will also all get their own municipal council.
The new settlements are Alon; Haresha; Kerem Reim; Neriya; Migron; Shvut Rachel; Ovnat; Brosh Habika; Leshem; Nofei Nehemia; Tal Menashe; Ibei Hanahal, and Gvaot.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advanced the security cabinet’s decision in his additional role as minister in the defense ministry, said the previous situation caused those neighborhoods “great difficulties in their daily management,” and that the new step will help them to “advance and develop.”
Added Smotrich “We are continuing to lead a revolution in the normalization and formalization of settlements. Instead of hiding and apologizing, we are raising the flag, building and settling. This is another important step on the way to de facto [Israeli] sovereignty in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank].”
Houthis claim responsibility for firing ballistic missile at Israel this morning
The Houthis rebels in Yemen claim responsibility for firing a “Palestine-2” ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport this morning.
Israel said earlier that it intercepted the missile before it crossed the country’s borders.
The Iran-backed group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree also states that they attacked the American aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red City.
Haredi body responsible for coordinating draft deferments won’t recieve money under 2025 budget
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block Route 4, near Bnei Brak in central Israel, during a protest against the conscription of Haredim to the IDF, January 9, 2025. (AP Photo/ Oded Balilty)
The Haredi community’s primary vehicle for coordination between ultra-Orthodox yeshivas and the Defense Ministry in matters of service deferments will not receive any money under the 2025 state budget, a representative of the Education Ministry tells lawmakers.
Responding to questions from members of the Knesset Finance Committee, Amos Sayada, the head of the ministry’s Torah Institutions Division, says that the so-called Vaad HaYeshivot (Yeshiva Committee) ceased receiving government funding, following the High Court of Justice’s 2024 ruling that the government must draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.
According to Guidestar, a center that provides information on nonprofit organizations in Israel, the Yeshiva Committee has long enjoyed government backing. In 2023, it received NIS 4,463,806 ($1.2 million) in state funding, totaling 67.4 percent of its annual budget.
Earlier this month, the cabinet voted to approve billions in coalition funds, including NIS 8 million ($2.2 million) for coordination and liaison bodies — a reference to groups that arrange military exemptions.
Speaking with The Times of Israel in early March, a spokesman for Haim Biton (Shas), a minister within the Education Ministry, said that the money was intended for the Yeshiva Committee. However, he said that it would only receive money if the Knesset manages to pass a law providing service exemptions for yeshiva students.
“For now, the money is on the shelf. You can’t touch it,” he said at the time.
Asked if any of the money budgeted for such groups would go to the Vaad HaYeshivot, Sayada responds in the negative.
A recent Times of Israel investigation found that the Vaad HaYeshivot has been actively advising yeshiva students to ignore enlistment orders.
“The guidance of the sages is unchanged: Do not report under any circumstances and do not cooperate. Of course, according to the law, there is an obligation to report, but these are the instructions of the sages,” the group emailed one yeshiva student who reached out for advice about how to respond to an enlistment order.
In leaked remarks from cabinet meeting, ministers trade jokes at AG’s expense, accuse her of acting like ‘leader of the opposition’
Government ministers railed against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara during a cabinet meeting this morning, as they discussed a no-confidence motion against her, according to leaked remarks from the meeting
The Walla news site reports that ministers decried what they saw as Baharav-Miara’s unacceptable treatment of the current government, compared to the government of former prime minister Naftali Bennett, under which she entered the role.
Regarding the attorney general’s absence from the meeting — which Justice Minister Yariv Levin said he views with “utmost severity” — Economy Minister Nir Barkat sniped: “She probably went to a different government’s meeting.”
Environment Minister Idit Silman, who resigned from Bennett’s party to rejoin Likud in 2022, is quoted as saying that, “in the previous government, she [Baharav-Miara] was the cabinet secretary, but here she is the leader of the opposition.”
During the meeting, Ynet reports that Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf turned to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar — who, like Silman, served in Bennett’s short-lived government before returning to the fold of Likud and its allies — and reminded him that he had been the one to appoint Baharav-Miara to the role in the first place.
“Gideon, what have you brought upon us?” Wasserlauf quipped, to laughter from the other ministers.
In response, Sa’ar said that the attorney general “sees herself as the child in that book [‘Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates’] with a finger in the dam, but a finger in the eye is not a finger in the dam.”
Turning to what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government claims is a concerted effort by the attorney general to prevent its legislation from passing, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir claimed, according to Walla, that she stifled his efforts to “fight crime.”
“She was against administrative detention for crime families in the Arab sector, which would have saved lives; she was against blocking cellular services for terrorists in prison; she opposed the establishment of the National Guard, she opposed gun reform — which has proven to be a lifesaver — and she wanted to force me to hand out fruit to the Nukhba terrorists,” he asserted, according to the leaked remarks.
The ultranationalist minister has long clashed with the attorney general, who most recently told Netanyahu that Ben Gvir could not be reinstated to his ministerial post, likely due to her concerns regarding the legality of his actions while serving as national security minister, prior to his temporary resignation from the government.
IDF says troops have encircled Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood in southern Gaza
IDF troops operate in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on March 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli forces complete the encirclement of Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood in southern Gaza, the IDF says in a statement.
According to the army, the operation — which began overnight — is meant “to destroy terrorist infrastructure and eliminate terrorists in the area, with the aim of deepening control and expanding the security area in the southern Gaza Strip.”
IDF troops killed several terrorists in the operation, says the army, and raided a Hamas command and control complex.
This morning, the IDF issued an “urgent” and immediate evacuation warning for Palestinians residing in the Tel Sultan neighborhood.
The IDF has carried out operations in Tel Sultan in the past — the neighborhood houses a number of key complexes belonging to Hamas and has a network of tunnels in which hostages have been held.
While the military had been operating in the area until recently, troops withdrew from the neighborhood during the two-month ceasefire that began in January.
Israel returned to fighting in Gaza last week after attempts to secure the release of more hostages by extending the first phase of the multi-stage ceasefire deal, rather than moving to the second phase, fell through.
According to the IDF statement, Israeli forces are allowing civilians to evacuate the combat zone along defined routes.
IDF says it foiled arms smuggling attempt in the West Bank
The IDF, along with Israel Police and the Shin Bet, have successfully foiled an arms smuggling attempt in the West Bank, the military says.
IDF surveillance soldiers identified suspects involved in smuggling two hunting rifles in the West Bank village of al-Ras, southeast of Tulkarem, the military says in a statement. Forces then quickly located and confiscated the weapons, transferring them for further investigation by the Shin Bet.
The IDF says its forces arrested 20 wanted individuals, interrogated suspects, and seized multiple weapons during a series of counterterrorism operations in the West Bank.
The IDF stresses that it will continue its efforts to combat terrorism and maintain the safety and security of Israeli citizens.
Opposition leaders slam Netanyahu as cabinet deliberates firing AG
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid delivers a video statement as the cabinet deliberates ahead of a no-confidence vote in the attorney general, March 23, 2025. (Screenshot)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara are “corrupt” and will not come to fruition, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares, as the cabinet deliberates, ahead of a no-confidence vote.
“After being interrogated, Netanyahu tried to fire his investigator. Today, the accused Netanyahu wants to fire his prosecutor. Gali Baharav-Miara is a professional, decent and good attorney general. That’s exactly why they want to fire her. It’s illegal, it’s corrupt. It won’t pass,” Lapid says in a recorded statement.
In a similar video message, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz says that “a million excuses” will be heard at the cabinet meeting, but the main reason why the government wants to dismiss Baharav-Miara is that it “has pledged to pass a law that will exempt the ultra-Orthodox from conscription.”
“Netanyahu wants an attorney general who will allow him to bypass the High Court of Justice, step on the reservists who are enlisting for the fifth round, and anchor the evasion in the law,” Gantz states. “The goal is clear: to maintain the coalition at the expense of those who maintain Israel’s security. At the expense of us all.”
“Netanyahu ‘loses trust’ in anyone who is not willing to bow to him,” weighs in The Democrats chairman Yair Golan.
“He has no trust in the head of the Shin Bet, because Ronen Bar is loyal to state security — not to the ruler. He has no trust in the attorney general, because she is loyal to the law — not to the accused,” he writes on X.
“But Netanyahu has long lost what is truly important — the public’s trust,” he continues, arguing that efforts to oust Baharav-Miara constitute an attempt “to sabotage democratic Israel.”
Shares on Tel Aviv Stock Exchange plummet during growing internal divisions
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, December 25, 2018. (Adam Shuldman/Flash90/File)
Shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange plunge, in light of rising internal tensions and growing investor fears that Israel could face a looming constitutional crisis.
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA-125 index drops 3.2%. The TA-35 index of blue-chip companies is down 2.9%. The TA-90 index, which tracks the shares with the highest capitalization not included in the TA-35 index, falls 4.2%, and the TA-Insurance and Financial Services index dives 6.7%.
Protesters gather in Jerusalem for the sixth consecutive day of demonstrations against the government’s plans to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
“The internal conflict in Israel is already impacting the financial markets,” warns Meitav Investment House chief economist Alex Zabezhinsky. “A return to fighting and an escalation of the internal conflict could harm economic growth, lead to a higher deficit, increase the risk of a downgrade of Israel’s credit rating, and delay interest rate cuts.”
The shekel depreciated about 1% on Friday, trading at around NIS 3.71 per dollar, the weakest level since the end of November, during protests from business leaders and the country’s largest labor union against the plans to oust Bar and Baharav-Miara.
“Rising internal tensions in Israel (led by the planned dismissal of the Shin Bet chief, the government’s intention to dismiss the Attorney General, and the fear of a constitutional crisis) coupled with heightened geopolitical tensions drove a significant depreciation of the shekel exchange rate and a rise in bond yields,” says Bank Hapoalim chief strategist Modi Shafrir.
Gaza death toll tops 50,000 since start of war, Hamas health officials say
Civil defense personnel work to retrieve bodies from under the rubble of a home in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip after overnight Israeli airstrikes, March 23, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
More than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the enclave’s Hamas-run health authorities say.
According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 50,021 Palestinians have been killed and 113,274 have been injured since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war.
The figures could not be independently verified and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
Israel said it had killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Fighting in Gaza resumed last week with a shock Israeli aerial offensive following a two-month ceasefire.
Justice Min. Levin: AG’s absence from cabinet meeting viewed with ‘utmost severity’
Justice Minister Yariv Levin attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset, on January 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
After the cabinet convenes to deliberate on a motion of no-confidence in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s spokesman releases a statement slamming the attorney general for refusing to attend the meeting.
“At the beginning of the discussion, Minister Levin said that he views the Attorney General’s absence from the meeting with utmost severity,” the spokesman says, stating that her decision to stay away serves as “further proof of the depth of contempt she harbors for the government and its members and that she has no answers to the allegations made against her.”
Ahead of the meeting, Baharav-Miara accused the government of seeking to operate above the law, without any checks on its power, and of seeking to silence the governmental legal advice system which she heads.
Cabinet meeting gets underway without AG or PM in attendance; protesters rally outside
Thousands of protesters gather outside the Knesset in Jerusalem as the cabinet meets to discuss a motion of no-confidence in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, March 23, 2025. (Yifat Yogev/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Crowds of protesters gather outside the Government Quarter in Jerusalem as the cabinet meeting gets underway inside, with the top item on the agenda being a motion of no-confidence in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Baharav-Miara is not present in the meeting, nor is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to a conflict of interest that prevents him from being directly involved in the proceedings. Instead, the cabinet meeting is being led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
Protesters wave Israeli flags alongside yellow flags representing the plight of the 59 hostages still captive in Gaza.
Retired Supreme Court justice Ayala Procaccia accuses the government of being motivated by outside interests.
She warns rallygoers that Israel is “no longer a free democracy, but another regime, one that we do not know. A regime in which there is no rule of law and no true freedom, a regime that lacks human rights protections.”
“We cannot put up with such a regime,” she says, calling for protesters to continue showing up and to “unite against the destruction of the image of the state.”
Government wants to operate ‘above the law,’ without checks on power, alleges AG
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee leads a committee meeting in the Knesset, Jerusalem, November 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara accuses the government of seeking to operate above the law, without any checks on its power, and of seeking to silence the governmental legal advice system which she heads.
Writing to the cabinet ahead of a scheduled meeting today to approve a no-confidence motion in her, the attorney general asserts that that motion is legally irrelevant and will have no bearing on the government’s efforts to remove her from office.
She also argues that the government fundamentally misunderstands the role of the Attorney General’s Office, which she says is to assist the government in achieving its policies in accordance with the law.
“When the legal advice system presents the government with the boundaries of the law it is doing its job, and it cannot be claimed that these are differences of opinion which are cause to dismiss,” says the attorney general in response to the government’s basic argument that Baharav-Miara has repeatedly thwarted the government from implementing its policies.
She points out that she and the legal advisory system have assisted the current government with the advancement of hundreds of pieces of legislation and hundreds of government resolutions, a form of executive action, and represented the government in over 2,000 petitions, including key issues relating to the war such as petitions against its humanitarian aid policy to Gaza, administrative detention, and other controversial policies.
“The [no-confidence] motion does not seek to advance trust but rather loyalty to the political echelon, not governability but rather regime power without borders, as part of a broader process to weaken the judicial branch and deter the entire professional echelon,” charges Baharav Miara.
“The government seeks to be above the law and to operate without checks and balances, including at the most sensitive time, a time of emergency, anti-government protests, and an election period,” she concludes.
Protesters march through Jerusalem as government prepares for motion of no-confidence in AG
Protesters march from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem home to his office in a demonstration against his government's attempts to fire the head of the Shin Bet and the attorney general, March 23, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Protesters gather in Jerusalem for the sixth consecutive day of demonstrations against the government’s plans to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Starting on Azza Street, close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence, the protesters set out on a march to the Government Quarter in Givat Ram.
Their arrival at the Government Quarter is intended to coincide with this morning’s cabinet meeting, at which ministers will debate a motion of “no-confidence” in the attorney general.
The Ynet news outlet reports that former Shin Ber chief Ami Ayalon will address the protesters, along with retired Supreme Court justice Ayala Procaccia.
Democrats MK Gilad Kariv shares a photo on X of a “skunk spray” cannon parked inside the Government Quarter in anticipation of the protesters.
“A good illustration of the complete blurring of lines that is taking place with respect to democratic principles,” he says of the crowd-dispersal device, which is often used to spray protesters with a foul-smelling liquid.
מכתז״ית בואש חונה בתוך שטח ריבונות הכנסת ומקבלת את פני הבאים למשכן.
אילוסטרציה טובה לטשטוש הגבולות המוחלט שמתרחש בבית הזה ביחס לעקרונות דמוקרטיים בכלל, ולחופש. מחאה בפרט.
פניתי בעניין לקצין הכנסת בנושא. נמשיך ונדווח. pic.twitter.com/99oafqQpLy
— גלעד קריב (@KarivGilad) March 23, 2025
Israeli drone strike reported on car in southern Lebanon
Lebanese state media reports an Israeli drone strike on a car in a southern Lebanon town.
“An Israeli drone carried out an airstrike this morning, launching a guided missile targeting a car in the town of Aita al-Shaab” near the border with Israel, Lebanon’s official National News Agency says, reporting an unspecified number of casualties.
The report comes after a rocket attack on the northern Israel town of Metula yesterday that triggered the most intense escalation since the November ceasefire, with Israel launching two waves of airstrikes on dozens of Hezbollah sites in Lebanon.
Turkish courts jail Istanbul mayor, a key Erdogan rival, pending trial
A Turkish court has jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu pending trial, state media and other broadcasters say, in a move likely to stoke the country’s biggest protests in more than a decade.
The decision to send Imamoglu — who is President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival — to prison, comes after the main opposition party, European leaders and tens of thousands of protesters criticized the actions against him as politicized.
The court says Imamoglu and at least 20 others were jailed as part of a corruption investigation. A separate ruling on a terror-related investigation has yet to be issued.
Defense Min. rehab department has received some 16,000 soldiers for treatment since October 7, 2023
The Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department says it has received some 16,000 soldiers since the beginning of the war which began on October 7, 2023, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the Defense Ministry around half of those received by the rehab centers amid the war have PTSD. Of them, 2,900 are suffering both physical injuries and psychological distress.
Some 6 percent are defined as having moderate injuries and another 4% as having severe injuries. 72 are listed as amputees.
Among the 16,000 soldiers, around 66% are reservists.
The rehab department is working with some 78,000 wounded veterans in total, including those from previous wars. It forecasts that by 2030, the centers will be treating some 100,000, with at least half of them suffering from PTSD.
Retired Supreme Court justices warn against government’s planned dismissal of AG
Ahead of a planned motion of “no confidence” in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at a weekly cabinet meeting later this morning, a number of retired Supreme Court justices have published a letter to the government warning it against the move.
A copy of the letter is obtained and published by several Hebrew media outlets.
“For decades, we have played a central role in maintaining the rule of law in Israel,” it begins. “As part of this role, we have exercised judicial review over decisions made by successive attorneys general on various issues on the legal and public agenda.”
An attorney general’s legal opinions are “intended to prevent the government from making illegal decisions,” the retired justices stress.
“The attorney general fulfills this role in a practical and professional manner, and it is inconceivable that fulfilling her duty as a loyal public servant would be to her detriment and lead to her dismissal,” the letter continues.
It further warns that dismissing Baharav-Miara “would seriously endanger the State of Israel’s status as a country of law founded on sound governance and administration.”
Among the letter’s signatories are retired Supreme Court presidents Esther Hayut, Dorit Beinisch and Aharon Barak, as well as former vice president Elyakim Rubinstein and ex-justice Hanan Melcer.
The motion of no confidence planned for today’s cabinet meeting is the first of several steps the government must take to remove the attorney general from office, and the process is expected to last several months.
IDF says it launched new ground offensive in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun
The IDF announces that it began ground operations yesterday in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun.
The offensive there is aimed at destroying Hamas infrastructure and expanding a buffer zone along the border, the military says. During the operation, Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck several Hamas targets in the area.
The IDF adds that it is enabling Palestinian civilians to evacuate the “combat zone for their safety.”
Young woman shot dead in her home overnight southern Israel Bedouin village
A young woman in her 20s was shot dead in her home early this morning in the Negev Bedouin village Qasr al-Sir, near Dimona.
Paramedics say they found Shuruq al-Hawashleh unconscious and without a pulse, suffering from several bullet wounds. They pronounced her dead at the scene after attempting and failing to resuscitate her.
According to Ynet, the victim was shot several times in her room and her father called the police upon hearing the gunfire. Police say they have opened an investigation into the incident but have not yet arrested any suspects.
Since the start of the year, 56 Arab Israelis, among them three women, have been killed in violent criminal incidents.
IDF issues ‘urgent’ evacuation warning for Tel Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, southern Gaza
The IDF has issued an “urgent” and immediate evacuation warning for Palestinians residing in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of southern Gaza’s Rafah.
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, publishes a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying that “the area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone” as the military carries out operations there.
Gazans are instructed to move on foot immediately via the so-called Gush Katif road toward the al-Mawasi area on the southern Strip’s coast. “Movement in vehicles is prohibited,” Adraee says.
He warns that staying in Tel Sultan or traveling via other routes “puts your life and the lives of your families at risk.
“Evacuate the area immediately,” the post adds.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل الى سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في منطقة تل السلطان في رفح
⭕️بدأ جيش الدفاع هجوماً لضرب المنظمات الإرهابية حيث تعتبر المنطقة التي تتواجدون فيها منطقة قتال خطيرة.
⭕️شارع غوش قطيف يعتبر مسارًا إنسانيًا لاستخدامكم من أجل الانتقال الى منطقة المواصي.
????نحذركم:… pic.twitter.com/7uY6g8GBEV
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 23, 2025
Two motorcyclists injured in collisions during Houthi missile sirens, emergency service says
Two motorcyclists were injured in separate instances in central this morning when they collided with cars during the sirens triggered by a Houthi ballistic missile launch, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.
A 52-year-old man was moderately injured in a crash on Highway 1 and was taken to Shamir Medical Center for further treatment. A second man, 48, was mildly injured in a collision outside of Herzliya and was taken to Meir Hospital.
Hamas confirms senior political official killed in southern Gaza airstrike overnight
Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Cairo on January 14, 2009 after ending a round of talks with Egyptian officials. (Cris Bouroncle/AFP)
The Hamas terror group confirms earlier reports that an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed one of its senior political leaders overnight.
Pro-Hamas media had reported that Salah al-Bardawil and his wife were killed in an airstrike on Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Bardawil was a well-known member of the terror group’s political wing who gave media interviews over the years.
He is the latest in a string of Hamas political officials to have been killed in renewed Israeli airstrikes after the terror group’s de facto government head Essam Addalees and internal security chief Mahmoud Abu Watfa were killed on Tuesday, along with several other officials.
Hamas-run medical authorities in Gaza say that at least 19 people were killed in strikes overnight, including Bardawil.
The European and Kuwaiti hospitals confirm the toll, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians, and say that the numbers include several women and children.
US lifts bounties on three senior Taliban figures behind deadly attacks, death of US citizen
The US has lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister who also heads a powerful network blamed for bloody attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government, officials in Kabul say.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, who acknowledged planning a January 2008 attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which killed six people, including US citizen Thor David Hesla, no longer appears on the State Department’s Rewards for Justice website. The FBI website, as of Sunday morning, still features a wanted poster for him.
Taliban interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani says the US government has revoked the bounties placed on Haqqani, Abdul Aziz Haqqani, and Yahya Haqqani.
The Haqqani network grew into one of the deadliest arms of the Taliban after the US-led 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
The group employed roadside bombs, suicide bombings and other attacks, including on the Indian and US embassies, the Afghan presidency, and other major targets. They also have been linked to extortion, kidnapping and other criminal activity.
A Taliban foreign ministry official, Zakir Jalaly, says the Taliban’s release of US prisoner George Glezmann on Friday and the removal of bounties shows both sides are “moving beyond the effects of the wartime phase and taking constructive steps to pave the way for progress” in bilateral relations.
“The recent developments in Afghanistan-US relations are a good example of the pragmatic and realistic engagement between the two governments,” says Jalaly.
Security cabinet approves new directorate to enable ‘voluntary’ departure of Palestinians from Gaza
Last night, Israel’s security cabinet approved a suggestion by Defense Minister Israel Katz to establish a new administration in the Defense Ministry tasked with enabling Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Katz’s office says the new directorate will work to “prepare for and enable safe and controlled passage of Gaza residents for their voluntary departure to third countries, including securing their movement, establishing movement routes, checking pedestrians at designated crossings in the Gaza Strip, as well as coordinating the provision of infrastructure that will enable passage by land, sea and air to the destination countries.”
The head of the directorate will be selected by Katz soon, his office says.
The statement adds that the efforts to enable Gazans who seek to migrate from the Strip to do so, are being carried out “subject to Israeli and international law, and in accordance with the vision of US President Donald Trump.”
“We are working with all means to implement the US president’s vision, and we will allow any Gaza resident who wants to move to a third state to do so,” Katz says.
IDF says air defenses downed Houthi ballistic missile
A ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military says.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the attack. The IDF says the missile was shot down before crossing the country’s borders.
Sirens had sounded across central Israel.
It marks the fifth Houthi attack on Israel in the past week.
Ballistic missile launched from Yemen, triggering sirens across central Israel
A ballistic missile has been launched from Yemen at Israel.
Sirens are sounding across central Israel.
The IDF is looking into the details.
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 Ayelet Shaked (R), Tourism Minister Yariv Levin (L) and Likud Knesset Member Amir Ohana (C) attend a committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 26, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
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
Eli Dasa (center) scores Israel's winning goal against Estonia in the World Cup European Qualifiers Group I game at Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary, March 22, 2025 (REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo)
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
Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) shoots as Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
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
This handout photo shows Israeli Ambassador to Berlin Ron Prosor (L) with Dilshad Barzani, the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq's representative, at a Nowruz celebration on March 20, 2025. (Israel Embassy in 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
This handout photo shows a seal corpse on the beach at Ma'agan Michael, March 22, 2025. (Ilia Baskin/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
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.
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