Roughly 7.3 million Israelis were eligible to cast ballots on Tuesday for the country's 26th Knesset, with the contest framed as a head-to-head between the bloc of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an opposition camp led by former general Gadi Eisenkot, according to Corriere della Sera.
By 2pm local time, turnout stood at 44.9%, the Central Elections Committee said — up from 38.9% at the same hour in the 2022 vote and the highest figure recorded at that point in the day since 1973. More than three million people had voted by then, Corriere della Sera reports.
"We have broken every record registered by the Central Elections Committee. A turnout like this has not been seen nationally since 1973," said Dean Livne, the committee's interim director-general, as quoted by the paper.
Why it matters
The unusually heavy flow to the polls comes as the two camps trade accusations over the integrity of the vote itself. Netanyahu, in one of several social media posts, said his opponents were trying to "steal the elections," according to Corriere della Sera. Eisenkot's Yashar party responded that the prime minister is deliberately trying to erode public confidence in the outcome.
"Netanyahu is in a panic and has started inventing stories, claiming the elections were rigged. It is no coincidence. He is already laying the groundwork to contest the election results," the party said in a statement cited by Israeli media, per Corriere della Sera.
Yashar urged its supporters to deliver a margin large enough to leave no room for a challenge. "Today's lead must be enormous, a lead that cannot be manipulated," the party said.
Long queues and emergency rules
The volume of voters produced long lines at polling stations, prompting the Central Elections Committee to send station chairpersons special instructions to speed up procedures. Under the new guidance, a voter may cast a ballot even with an expired identity document, provided the photograph on it allows the person to be identified, Corriere della Sera reports.
Turnout among soldiers reached 48% by 1pm, compared with 44.4% at the same time in 2022, the army said. In the Bedouin tribe of Atawneh, east of Beersheba, 64.1% had voted by noon, according to the Jerusalem Post, as cited by the paper.
Eisenkot cast his ballot at a polling station in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, Israeli media reported.
The paper's correspondent in Tel Aviv, Greta Privitera, described a country at a standstill: offices closed, schools shut, campaign cars circling with flags and posters of both Netanyahu and Eisenkot, and party anthems competing with car horns. In Tel Aviv, she wrote, restaurants and cafes were full, with a mood she described as festive as people waited for evening results.
Competing appeals to the base
In Bnei Brak, the main ultra-Orthodox centre in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, queues outside schools stretched on, with men in black hats and women with children, while youths handed out tea and biscuits. Most were there to vote for Shas or United Torah Judaism, the ultra-Orthodox parties allied with Netanyahu, according to Corriere della Sera. Their demands include allowing religious school students to continue studying the Torah without being drafted, and state funding for their institutions without interference in their autonomy. Posters for the ultra-Orthodox lists dominated the walls, alongside a few for Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich — and none at all for Eisenkot.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, speaking at the entrance to Kafr Qassem, one of Israel's main Arab towns, made a blunt appeal to his own base. "Voting percentages in the Arab sector are crazy: let's not let them win!" he said, according to Corriere della Sera. "If you want this country to remain Jewish and Zionist, if you don't want it in the hands of Mansour Abbas and Ahmed Tibi, go and vote only Otzma Yehudit," he added, referring to his Jewish Power party.
Separately, a man was detained after approaching Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats, with a knife during a party event in Tel Aviv, the left-wing party said. According to the party, Golan's security staff stopped the man as he approached in a threatening manner; a large knife fell from his clothing and he was subdued before he could act. Police took him into custody, Corriere della Sera reports.
Attention now turns to the count and to whether the losing side accepts the result — the central question both camps have spent the day arguing over.
