Israelis vote as 70,000 Gaza deaths loom over a split parliament

More than 70,000 Palestinians have died in the Gaza war under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s command. That toll sits at the center of Tuesday’s election in Israel, a contest that pits a 19-year incumbent against a fragmented opposition bloc in a 120-seat parliament.

The race is defined less by traditional left-right divides and more by support for or against Netanyahu personally. He first took office three decades ago and has held power for 19 of those years. Polls show the pro- and anti-Netanyahu camps running neck and neck, with neither side projected to secure a majority alone.

The leading challenger is Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and son of working-class Moroccan Jews. He entered politics only four years ago, and his party, Yashar, translates to straight or direct. At a rally in Modi'in this week, supporters praised his plain style. Noa Sadeh, 56, said she was tired of politicians who only know how to talk and wanted someone to do the work. Eisenkot proposes US-style term limits for prime ministers, arguing that power corrupts.

The opposition field is broad and often contradictory. It includes former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman, both right-wing figures who once served alongside Netanyahu. On the far right, Yishai Fleisher of the Otzma Yehudit party told voters in Bet Shemesh that Netanyahu drifts left. He called for more settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, a ministry to encourage the voluntary departure of Palestinians, and the death penalty.

Netanyahu has shaped the debate with posters that pair the word Yamin, meaning right, with Falastin, meaning Palestine. He places opposition leaders next to heads of parties representing Palestinian citizens, who make up about a fifth of the population. The central question for Jewish anti-Netanyahu parties is whether they will rely on mainly Arab parties to form a government. Pro-Netanyahu media, including Channel 14, have kept his opponents on the defensive.

This week, Channel 14 host Yinon Magal called Eisenkot a Moroccan monkey. Speakers at the Modi'in rally raised the slur, but Eisenkot did not. Admirers saw restraint; doubters saw a politician who does not grasp the intensity of the fight. The close polling puzzles observers because the war began after the 7 October 2023 attack on the Nova festival and southern kibbutzim. Israel says a third of the dead in Gaza were Hamas combatants, yet Hamas was not eradicated, and Iran’s nuclear threat remains.

Netanyahu faces a corruption trial and the fallout from his attempt to curb the supreme court. He also faces criticism for receiving credible warnings of the 2023 attack and failing to act. His allies claim army and intelligence chiefs kept him in the dark, a claim observers call unfounded. His durability rests on a loyal base built over three decades and his skill as a coalition builder.

Opposition hopes rest partly on expatriate Israelis flying home to vote. Pollsters do not capture this group, and their turnout could matter if the result hinges on a single seat. On Thursday, a state ceremony marked the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Netanyahu stayed away and sent a low-ranking minister. Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party, said he is optimistic that opposition leaders can agree on a regional security process, though he avoided the words peace process.