Photo: Shlomo Spitzer, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Polls opened across Israel on Tuesday morning as voters cast ballots in a pivotal Knesset election pitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his sitting coalition against an opposition bloc seeking to replace him — the first election since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack reshaped the country.
Some 7,331,981 Israelis are eligible to vote for the 120-seat Knesset. Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m., and voting runs until 10:00 p.m., when exit polls are expected to offer the first projections. The Central Elections Committee set up 12,018 polling stations, deployed around 100,000 personnel and 15,000 cameras to monitor voting and counting, and arranged free travel on 660 intercity public transport routes. Thirty-four parties are contesting the election, and final results are expected by Friday.
Netanyahu vs. Eisenkot
Within the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party has taken the lead ahead of Netanyahu's Likud in the majority of recent polling, though neither bloc appears able to secure a 61-seat Knesset majority on its own, according to the Jerusalem Post. That means coalition negotiations, which could take weeks or months, are likely to decide who actually governs — and failure to form a government could eventually lead to new elections.
Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, has built his campaign around accountability for October 7 and the demand for an independent commission of inquiry into the security failures that allowed the Hamas attack. In a message posted on X just ahead of the polls opening, he wrote: "Remember this hour when you go to vote. Today we have an opportunity to put a slip in the ballot box, to replace the government of October 7th and the shirking, and to set Israel on a new and better path."
Netanyahu, who has served a combined total of more than 19 years as prime minister, has campaigned as a strongman on security, and he has the public backing of US President Donald Trump, a factor that makes the election relevant to American political debate as well as to Israel's own future.
An election defined by October 7
The vote is the first since Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, attack, which killed nearly 1,200 people and took 251 hostages into the Gaza Strip, and set off nearly three years of multi-front wars across the Middle East. Security concerns, accountability for the failure to prevent the attack, the country's democratic direction and the role of religion in the state have become the key campaign issues.
The opposition attacks Netanyahu mainly over that security failure, arguing he is dangerous for Israel's security. Netanyahu's government has consistently opposed an independent state inquiry, with the prime minister arguing the process could be biased against him. The next government will also face the challenge of managing security threats while navigating strained diplomatic relationships, including mounting international criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu in 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
How voting day unfolded
Voting at Israeli diplomatic missions abroad concluded on October 16, while voting at some military bases began last week. On Tuesday, the election authorities rolled out an extensive logistical operation, with free train rides and bus routes laid on to help voters reach polling stations across the country.
Opposition figures beyond Eisenkot also framed the day as a verdict on Netanyahu. Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beytenu echoed the message that a vote against Netanyahu is a vote for a stronger State of Israel, while Eisenkot's final pre-poll message insisted that Netanyahu's role would conclude "immediately following the election results" and the establishment of the next government.
What happens after the polls close
When polls close at 10:00 p.m., exit polls will give the first indication of whether Netanyahu's bloc or the opposition has the edge — but with neither side expected to win an outright majority, the result will be the start of a negotiation, not the end of one. Party leaders will spend the coming days and weeks trying to assemble 61 seats, and the shape of that coalition will determine Israel's security policy, its relationship with Washington, and whether the country finally gets the independent October 7 inquiry the opposition has demanded.
Sources: The Jerusalem Post (polls opening, Eisenkot polling lead, no-bloc majority, diplomatic and military voting); Republic World / ANI (voter total, Eisenkot X messages, opposition positions); Times of India live coverage (polling stations, personnel, cameras, free travel, 34 parties, results timing, Trump backing, ICC warrant context).