Fastest turnout for half a century as Israelis pass wartime judgment on Netanyahu

Israelis surged to the polls at the fastest rate in nearly half ​a century on Tuesday to pass wartime judgment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what voters described as the most consequential election in the nation’s history.

Long lines formed outside polling stations for the first ‌election since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, with voters passionately engaged over the trauma of the country’s deadliest day and the ensuing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Policies of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition have been divisive at home and have deepened Israel’s international isolation, while he has defended his record, calling himself the only leader with the mettle to face down Israel’s foes.

Read: Opposition leader says Netanyahu ‘no longer fit’ to lead Israel

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader with 19 years in office, is an unmatched political survivor, and his nationalist politics are increasingly entrenched. Israel’s fragmented system makes it difficult for an array of opponents to force out ​his coalition of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties.

His main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, a military ex-chief of staff and security hawk, aims to unseat him with the support of parties on the right and centre, as well ​as the rump of an increasingly marginalised left. Opinion polls show a close race, with neither leader facing an easy path to power.

In a message to supporters more than five ⁠hours after polls opened, Netanyahu urged them to vote, saying turnout was high among his opponents on the left and among Israelis of Arab heritage, around a fifth of the country.

“We need it to be high too. You all ​need to stream to the polls,” he said. “This is a fateful moment.”

Voter sees election as most important she’s known

Voters began casting ballots after polling stations opened at 7am (0500 GMT). The polls close at 10pm (2000 GMT).

The Central Elections ​Committee reported that 31.5% of eligible voters had cast their ballots within the first five hours. It was the fastest turnout since a legendary 1977 election that came to be known as “the upheaval”, which brought the right to power for the first time in Israeli history.

“I think these elections are the most important of all the ones I’ve known,” said Ruth Epstein, an 81-year-old longtime left-wing voter in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, who voted for the opposition Democrats.

“I’m really scared about what will be here.”

Netanyahu has campaigned on an endorsement from US President Donald Trump, ​his ally in the war against Iran, who has said they should “finish the job”.

If neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot can form a governing coalition in the 120-seat parliament, Netanyahu could stay on as caretaker until another election is held.

His opponents have managed ​to wrest him from the premiership only once since 2009, and that took four inconclusive elections in two years. He was back 18 months later.

Eisenkot sees ‘new spirit’

For many of Netanyahu’s opponents, the election turns on accountability for the security failures of October 7, ‌Israel’s deadliest day. ⁠Opposition groups have promised to hold a national inquiry, which Netanyahu’s government has resisted.

“I am convinced that by the end of today, we will see a change — a new spirit for the State of Israel — that will serve as a rectification for the past three years and for that terrible day,” Eisenkot said during a visit to kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, targeted in the October 7 attacks.

He walked to the polls with Gadi Mozes, one of 251 people kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza during the attack that killed 1,200 people.

Eisenkot says Israel’s response — a war which health authorities say killed more than 74,000 Palestinians — was a failure because Hamas remains in charge. He repeated his commitment ​to dismantle or destroy Hamas’ military and governing power ​in Gaza within 18 months of forming a government.

Itamar ⁠Ben-Gvir, leader of a far-right party in Netanyahu’s coalition, cast his vote in the Kiryat Arba settlement in the occupied West Bank early on Tuesday. He predicted Netanyahu would return as prime minister, and his own party would serve as the right-wing anchor of the government.

Arab turnout could be key

Voters from Israel’s Arab minority, Israeli by citizenship but Palestinian by ​heritage, were voting in “unprecedented” numbers, Palestinian candidate Ahmed Tibi said.

Netanyahu had repeatedly warned supporters of the prospect of high turnout among Arab Israelis ahead of the vote, seeking ​to mobilise his base under ⁠the slogan “Right or Palestine”.

Eisenkot has ruled out partnering with Arab parties, citing a lack of shared values, although some possible scenarios envision them propping up a minority government to ensure Netanyahu is removed from office.

Eisenkot joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet after the October 7 attacks but quit after eight months, criticising his leadership.

Israel flattened much of Gaza in the offensive launched after October 7, and now occupies around two-thirds of the enclave under a year-old US-brokered ceasefire. Negotiations for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw have ⁠stalled.

Israel also dealt ​heavy blows to Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where it now occupies a swathe of territory, and traded strikes with Iran, leading to a 12-day air ​campaign in 2025 and this year’s joint US-Israeli war.

Like nearly all Jewish party leaders in Israel, Eisenkot opposes the two-state solution that once underpinned decades of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

But he has criticised Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has surged since 2023 and ​strained Israel’s ties with Western states. And he opposes Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners.

The October 7 reckoning

The election follows one of Israel’s most turbulent periods since its establishment in 1948, shaped by ​the trauma of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Israel’s use of the Hannibal Directive, the subsequent military assault in Gaza and deep domestic divisions over the policies of Netanyahu’s right-wing government.

For many of Netanyahu’s opponents, the election ​turns on accountability for the security failures of October 7.

Mali Hajaj, an Education Ministry employee and Eisenkot supporter, said: “The most important thing is the establishment of a national inquiry.”

Lisa ⁠Tortor said she hoped Netanyahu would go and “they can form a new government and do some of the repairing of the damage that Bibi has done…for Israel, and Israel’s image.” Bibi is Netanyahu’s nickname.

But Nof Gabay, an 18-year-old Likud supporter, rejected the idea that Netanyahu was to blame for October 7 and called him “the right man for the state of Israel.”

“Netanyahu managed the war in the best possible way,” Gabay said.

The wartime record

Israel flattened much of Gaza in a genocidal offensive launched after October 7, when Hamas took ​251 Israelis captive. Gaza health authorities report that Israeli ​attacks killed 74,000 people.

Israel also dealt heavy blows ⁠to Hezbollah in Lebanon and traded strikes with Iran before a 12-day aerial campaign against Iranian nuclear stockpiles and power plants in 2025 and this year’s joint US-Israeli war.

Eisenkot has said Israel’s next government must prevent Iran from acquiring a military nuclear capability, either by force or through an “arrangement” such as ​a US-backed diplomatic solution.

Read More: Iran says US ‘not serious’ about talks, rejects claims over nuclear programme

Iran has, for its part, rejected the notion that they pursue nuclear weaponry.

Coalition math

Like nearly all Israeli Jewish-led parties in Israel, Eisenkot opposes the two-state solution that underpinned decades of peace negotiations ​with the Palestinians.

But he has ⁠criticised Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has surged since 2023 and strained Israel’s ties with Western states, and opposes Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

In some bastions of Likud support, disenchanted voters have been going door to door to turn voters against Netanyahu. Some have turned away from Netanyahu as he battles corruption charges he denies in a long-running criminal trial.

Also Read: Netanyahu faces reckoning for October 7 in Israel’s first vote since attack

A high turnout ⁠among voters from Israel’s ​Arab minority, who are Palestinian by heritage, could help nudge Israel’s complex coalition arithmetic in favour of ​Eisenkot.

Though Eisenkot has ruled out partnering with Arab parties, analysts see a scenario where they prop up a minority government he leads in order to ensure Netanyahu is removed from office.

“My expectation is that we ​will have only a slight majority either way. No landslide,” said Israeli political analyst Amotz Asa-El of the Shalom Hartman Institute.