Israel is holding its first national election since the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 killed approximately 1,200 people. Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led the country for 19 of the past 30 years, is seeking a new mandate with the endorsement of US President Donald Trump.
The Prime Minister currently faces a corruption trial and recently shared an AI-generated image on social media depicting a nuclear bomb striking Tel Aviv. Gadi Eisenkot, the son of Moroccan immigrants, founded a new political party called Yashar.
Eisenkot's son and two nephews were killed while fighting in Gaza during 2024. The Knesset consists of 120 seats, and no single party has ever secured a majority of 61 seats in the legislature.
Small parties must secure at least 3.25% of the total vote to gain representation in the Knesset. Approximately 15 million people reside in areas under Israeli control.
Just over 7 million Jewish Israelis live within the pre-1967 borders, alongside 1.7 million Palestinian citizens of Israel in the same area. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank hold voting rights, while 3.1 million Palestinians in that territory remain under military rule without the right to vote.
Two million Palestinians in Gaza have no voting rights. Ofer Winter leads the far-right Amcha Yisrael party.
Exit polls are scheduled for release at 10pm Israeli time.
