Israel heads to first election since October 7 amid multiple wars

Israelis vote on Tuesday in the first national election since the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks, with polls showing neither Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition reaching 61 Knesset seats. The result could produce prolonged coalition bargaining or another election, while Israel fights on several fronts and faces growing diplomatic isolation. The outcome will shape the government that steers Israel's war, settlement and international policy, and Israel's standing among the nations remains central to the biblical story of the land and Jerusalem.