An Israeli man votes at a polling station during the national election, in Bnei Brak, Israel, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Nir Elias

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

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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara prepare to vote at a polling station in Jerusalem on October 27, 2026, on the day of Israel's legislative election. YONATAN SINDEL/Pool via REUTERS
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara react at a polling station in Jerusalem on October 27, 2026, on the day of Israel's legislative election. YONATAN SINDEL/Pool via REUTERS
Former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, votes during the national election, in Herzliya, Israel, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
A man sells secondhand goods from a table surrounded by election posters of Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu during the country's national elections in central Jerusalem, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
A man votes during the national election at a polling station in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Nir Elias
An Israeli man votes at a polling station during the national election, in Bnei Brak, Israel, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Nir Elias
Ultra-Orthodox Jews look at notices posted on a wall, during the country's national elections, in Jerusalem, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party votes with his wife Ayala, on the day of Israel’s national election, in Kiryat Arba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Menahem Kahana
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Together (Beyachad) party, votes alongside his wife, Gilat Bennett, during the national election, in Raanana, Israel, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Nir Elias REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT
Palestinian candidate Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra'am party, holds his daughter as he places his vote at a polling station, on the day of Israel’s national election, in Maghar, Israel, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Rami Shlush
Hotel porters push a trolley as they pass a banner of Yair Golan, leader of The Democrats party, near a polling station during Israel's national election, in central Jerusalem, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
An election billboard features Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump as the country holds a national election in Ramat Gan, Israel, October 27, 2026. Text reads "President Trump: "Vote for Netanyahu! Only with him will we finish the mission." REUTERS/Nir Elias
People wait outside as a man votes during the national election in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, northern Israel, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal Herzog vote at a polling station during Israel's national election, in Jerusalem, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israel holds first general election since October 7 Hamas attack

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An Israeli man votes at a polling station during the national election, in Bnei Brak, Israel, October 27, 2026. REUTERS/Nir Elias

By Steven Scheer and Pesha Magid

JERUSALEM, Oct 27 (Reuters) - 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.

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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.

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.

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"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 ⁠7 a.m. (0500 GMT). The polls close at 10 p.m. (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.

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"I'm really scared about what will be here."

Netanyahu has campaigned on an endorsement from US President Donald Trump, his ally in 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.

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"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.

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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.

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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.

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell and Rami Ayyub in ​Jerusalem, Lili Bayer and Alexander Cornwell in Tel AvivWriting by Tom PerryEditing by Howard Goller, Joe Bavier, Peter Graff)