Israelis Vote in First Election Since Oct. 7 Attack as Netanyahu Seeks to Retain Power

Polls opened at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, for Israel's election to the 26th Knesset, the country's first general election since the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Voting is scheduled to run until 10 p.m. The Central Elections Committee said 7.33 million Israelis are eligible to vote, 543,177 more than four years ago, at 12,018 regular polling stations, and that about 330,000 young Israelis are voting for the first time. Voters choose party lists, which need at least 3.25% of valid votes to enter parliament. Military voting began Oct. 21. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting to retain power in a tight race. With no absentee voting, tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad flew home to vote. The U.S.-based AID Coalition estimated up to 67,000 had arrived, about half from the United States. Analysts cautioned the result is unlikely to greatly change Israel's security or foreign policy.

The New York Post, on the right, leads with logistics and official figures: opening hours, voter and polling-station counts, first-time voters and the threshold. It quotes the committee's acting director-general, Dean Livne, calling the day a celebration of Israeli democracy, and relays the committee's warning about online misinformation. Its excerpt does not mention Netanyahu or expatriate voters. On the left, MS NOW frames the vote as a test of Netanyahu's leadership, with the pain and recriminations of Oct. 7 looming over it. CBS News centers on voters flying in from abroad, quoting Ronnie Teram Gil-Ad, who paid about $3,000, and Yael Natra, who cited an eroding democracy. Both sides agree this is the first election since Oct. 7, but they differ on whether to stress process or political stakes. Semafor adds analyst views and EU sanctions, and the Christian Science Monitor follows one traveler from Australia.