Israelis headed to the polls on the morning of Tuesday, 27 October 2026 for the 26th Knesset elections, a decisive day expected to determine the fate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the political balance of power. The Central Elections Committee declared the initial turnout the highest since 1981, with record voting in the early hours unseen in 45 years. Committee data point to more than 7.33 million voters, 12,018 ballot boxes, about 100,000 workers and 450 million ballot papers, with a 3.25% threshold and 120 seats; polling stations close at 22:00, sample results will be announced and final results are expected overnight. Turnout in the Israeli army reached 30% by 10 a.m. compared with 25.7% at the same time in the previous election, while long queues formed in Al-Luqiya and Rahat in the Negev, where participation in Rahat's polling centres reached 50%.
Netanyahu cast his vote, as did Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in Kedumim, who called the day decisive for Israel's future, opposition leader Yair Lapid and his wife near their home in Tel Aviv, Benny Gantz, Motti Laitner in Beit Shemesh, and Education Minister Yoav Kisch in Hod HaSharon. President Isaac Herzog stressed that the authorities would not allow anyone to spoil a "successful and democratic" election day, while the Shin Bet ordered heightened security protection for all government ministers on election day and changed Kats's polling station, and the head of the Shin Bet arrived at the Central Elections Committee compound in the Knesset.
Against the backdrop of the vote, The New York Times reported that Netanyahu had sought to carry out an air strike on Iran before Tuesday's election, but Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir opposed the timing; officials warned that resuming fighting after the elections could obstruct the formation of a government, while Avigdor Liberman accused Netanyahu of treason. In the same context, Security Minister Yisrael Katz raised the level of his rhetoric, arguing that Israel now faces a choice between attack and containment, and Israel revealed new details about the "pager" operation.
Attention is turning to the day after the elections, as Likud and the change camp led by Gadi Eisenkot prepare for a political and legislative battle beyond the calculations of victory and defeat, including the "law of the accused" and the posts of the Knesset and its committees, at a time when the Arab parties are described as the tipping point. The day was also marked by incidents: police seized envelopes containing cash and Ra'am party ballot papers suspected of being prepared for distribution to voters in the Bedouin area, a violent incident in Tiberias against an activist of the "Ma" party led by Bennett, cries of "shame" against Minister Miri Regev in Rosh HaAyin, the death of a 94-year-old man after voting in Ramat Gan, and an Egyptian crossing the border fence, prompting an Israeli alert and open investigations.