Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an "emergency" call to his supporters in Israel to cast their ballots in a knife-edge election widely seen as one of the most important in the country's history. In a run of statements on X, Netanyahu said right-wing supporters had not arrived to make their choice, before claiming "huge lines" had formed at polling stations in predominantly Arab areas. "My brothers and sisters, right-wing voters, if we don't go out to vote, we'll get a government of the Muslim Brotherhood," Netanyahu said, referring to the Sunni Islamist group.
By noon local time, more than 2.3 million Israelis had cast their ballots—more voters in this time period than in any election since 1977, according to Israel's Ynet newspaper. Around 30 percent of eligible Israeli military personnel had voted by 10 a.m. local time, a surge from 25.7 percent by the same time in the last election, the outlet reported. Tuesday's vote is the first parliamentary election since the start of the Israeli war in Gaza in October 2023 and the U.S.-led war with Iran, with hundreds of Israeli warplanes dropping more than 500 bombs on Iranian targets on February 28, 2026.
The race to shore up support has been closely watched by Israel's Arab neighbors and beyond. Tuesday's race is broadly seen as a judgement on Netanyahu's handling of multiple wars that have increasingly isolated Israel from the rest of the world. More than a fifth of Israel's population is made up of Muslims, Christians and Druze Arabs, which observers said could tip the balance of who ends up as Israel's next leader.
"This is an emergency call!," Netanyahu said in a message posted to social media. "We must not stay home." This is a developing story and will be updated.
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