Israelis head to the polls, casting their votes in the country's first election since Oct. 7 | LIVE BLOG
i24NEWS will be publishing its own exit poll tonight at 10:00 pm to reveal which political parties will come out on top, following a complete counting of the votes
It is election day in Israel, and across the nation millions of people are heading to the polls in what has been one of the most contentious and divisive elections in recent history. According to Israel’s Central Elections Committee there are over 7.3 million eligible voters, 12,018 polling stations, about 100,000 workers, and 450 million ballots printed, all on whopping NIS 690 million ($223.3m) budget. However, about 11% of eligible voters, or 810,000 people, are living abroad and only an estimated 67,000 are flying into Israel to vote. Twenty regional election committees are operating nationwide, and 660 intercity public transport lines, including all Israel Railways lines, will run free on election day.
Tuesday’s election will be the first one since November 2022, before October 7, with approximately 333,000 more people eligible to vote. Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party be able to fend off their opponents and retain a majority coalition? Or will opposition leaders be able to garner enough votes to secure their own leading coalition? Make sure to tune in to i24NEWS for all your election coverage. Learn about the latest from the polls, what leading politicians are saying, and the final results, from 11:30 am to until the final ballot is counted. i24NEWS will be publishing its own exit poll at 10:00 pm.
IDF says it detained an Egyptian who crossed into its territory amid warnings of heightened security threats for Israel's election day
The IDF said on Tuesday it apprehended an Egyptian civilian overnight after he crossed a border fence from Egyptian territory into Israel near Nitzana.
He was transferred to security forces for further questioning, the military said, without providing additional details.
The arrest comes amid warnings from Israel's top officials, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who have warned about the heightened risk of terror attacks the country faces during its election process.
Extra Election Facts
Approximately 15.1% of eligible voters living in Israel are young people aged 18-24, 27.6% are aged 25-39, and 31% are aged 40-59. The share of eligible voters aged 60 and over is approximately 26.3%.
Meanwhile, just over 5 million (77%) of eligible voters living in Israel are Jews. About 1,159,000 (18%) of eligible voters are Arabs (Muslims, Arab Christians, and Druze). Another 346,000 (5%) are others, defined as non-Arab Christians and residents without religious classification.