Israel elections 2026 live: Polling stations to open late as turnout hits highest since Yom Kippur War

1.01pm – A reminder from the Foreign Ministry that polling day is a national holiday

12.54pm – Pensioner, 94, dies on return trip from polling station

Israel Kreis, a 94-year-old from Ramat Gan, suddenly died after insisting on going out to vote for Gadi Eisenkot, his daughter, Shirley told Ynet.

“I took him by car to vote, and on the way back, as soon as he got out of the car, he collapsed and died at the entrance to the building,” she said.

12.50pm – How voting works in Israel

Read the JC’s explainer on the voting system here.

12.44pm – A view from the ground in Jaffa

12.37pm – Czech prime minister reaffirms Israel friendship in election day message to Netanyahu

12.27pm – A ‘microcosm of Israeli democracy’ in Tel Aviv

12.24pm – Polling stations to stay open late if turnout remains high

Dan Levine, acting director-general of the CEC, has confirmed that polling stations will be allowed to remain open beyond 10pm if voters are still queuing outside.

“We promise, everyone will vote,” he said. 

“If there is a line at 10 pm, the polling stations will continue to operate until everyone who arrived by 10 pm has voted. There is no need to worry.”

The announcement comes after early turnout hit its highest level since 1981 by 10am. By noon, two million votes had been cast.

Read the full story here.

12.19pm – Eisenkot casts his vote

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, the favourite to be the next prime minister, has cast his vote in Herzliya with his wife, Hannah.

“Taking Israel onto a new path. We will be worthy. I commit,” he wrote on X.

12.15pm – Analysis: Israelis want security, but who will deliver it?
By Jane Prinsley, in Israel

If you want to understand what Israelis are voting for in this election, head to its borders.

I’ve spent the last three days traversing Israel’s boundaries as the country chooses its next parliament, voting for the first time since the October 7 massacre and the Gaza war.

In Metula, Israel’s northernmost village, locals have three seconds to take cover if a rocket launches from Kfarkela, the Hezbollah stronghold immediately across the Lebanese border.

From a vantage point overlooking southern Lebanon, piles of rubble mark where the Israeli army discovered Hezbollah tunnels, weapons caches and anti-tank missile launch sites. Thousands of soldiers deployed across that border in Lebanon, as well as in Syria and Gaza, have cast their ballots at military polling stations in enemy territory.

Everyone here is voting for security; what divides them is how it can be achieved and who should be trusted to deliver it…

Read the full piece here.

12.08pm – No evidence of systematic ballot tampering, say election authorities

The CEC has confirmed that it has seen “no indication” of systematic ballot tampering following formal complaints lodged by three parties.

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu and Ofer Winter’s People of Israel have all lodged protests with the committee within hours of polls opening.

A CEC spokesperson said: “Contrary to claims circulating online, there are currently no indications of systematic tampering with ballot slips.”

They also urged voters to rely on the CEC’s official communication channels rather than social media.

Read the full story here.

12.01pm – Police confirm ‘no stabbing attempt’ on Democrats leader as man arrested with knife

The Israel Police have confirmed they arrested a man carrying a knife in Tel Aviv’s Park HaMesila this morning.

The Democrats party earlier claimed that the suspect had approached its leader, Yair Golan, who was out campaigning in the city, “in an intimidating manner”.

According to the party, the man was stopped by Golan’s security team, at which point a knife fell out of his hand and he was tackled to the ground.

Police said the man was stopped and searched “near a public figure” but that “contrary to reports, no stabbing attempt took place”.

11.53am – Film star Gal Gadot votes

11.50am – US ambassador to Israel hails elections, voter ID rules

11.47am – Elections proceeding smoothly says Shin Bet chief

“We can confidently tell the citizens of Israel that the elections are being monitored and conducted in a proper and inspiring manner,” said Shin Bet director David Zini

His remarks came despite complaints of alleged ballot tampering from three of the major parties.

Read the full story here.

11.31am – Reports of queues at polling stations

[Missing Credit]

11.13am – Voter turnout hits 30 per cent as two million votes cast 
Two million votes have now been cast in Israel’s general election, the CEC has confirmed.

Voter turnout reached 30 per cent by noon after the 10am turnout figure was the highest since 1981.

Read the full story here. 

11.11am – Three parties file complaints over alleged ballot tampering 
Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu and Ofer Winter’s People of Israel have all lodged complaints with the CEC over alleged ballot tampering within hours of polls opening.

People of Israel claimed that its ballots, marked with the letter Chaf, have been absent from some polling booths, while others were “turned over to make them appear to be blank ballots”.

It also alleged that there was an incident at one polling station in which a voter “attempted to remove” all of its ballots from the site.

Yisrael Beiteinu, meanwhile, said that one of its voters had reported receiving a partially-opened envelope with a ballot paper for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party already inside, which it claimed had been recorded in the official record by election staff.

And Yashar, which is leading the polls, made claims of “deliberate damage” and theft of its ballot papers and “extremely long lines” in its expected electoral strongholds, suggesting that access routes may have been blocked to suppress turnout.

Read the full story here.

10.33am – Early turnout the highest since 1981 
Data released by Israel’s Central Elections Committee (CEC) shows early turnout is at its highest in more than 40 years.

By 10am IST (8am GMT) turnout had reached 16.7 per cent, with 1.2 million votes cast, up 0.8 per cent on 2022.

The last time it was this high was 1981, when the figure stood at 17 per cent ahead of Menachem Begin’s re-election.

Read the full story here.