Netanyahu faces reckoning for October 7 in Israel's first vote since attack

Gal Cohen walks along a memorial wall engraved with the names of the men, women and children slain in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on his kibbutz. For him, the ​idea that the man leading Israel, then and since, may be re-elected on Tuesday is painful.

One-in-ten residents of his kibbutz, Be'eri, were among the 1,200 people killed in Hamas' surprise attack. Dozens were among the 251 taken hostage to ‌Gaza. It was Israel's deadliest single day.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have taken responsibility and stepped down, said Cohen, 61, and the fact that he has fulfilled a full term in office is a slap in the face. Tuesday's election, he said, is critical for Israel. Read: Israel elections to be held on October 27 "If this government will stay, many hearts and minds will be broken.

It will be really hard to continue," said Cohen. Many of Netanyahu's opponents see the election as an opportunity at last to ​deliver a long-postponed reckoning for the worst security failure in generations. But even if Israel's longest-serving prime minister loses his majority, he could well escape the decisive verdict his foes are ​seeking.

Israelis will head to the polls on Tuesday in the first legislative election since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and Israel’s subsequent genocidal war on Gaza. Here are five things to know: https://t.co/zYTVfY95dV pic.twitter.com/QOC0bPT24C — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 26, 2026 Netanyahu has rejected blame for the breach and resisted calls for an independent investigation. He maintains that Israel's wars against Hamas in Gaza and its allies ⁠in Lebanon and Iran will result in a more peaceful Middle East.

The task will be complete only with the downfall of Iran's clerical rulers, Netanyahu has said on the campaign trail, and only ​he has the conviction and standing to deliver. Opinion polls have for months predicted a sharp drop for Netanyahu's Likud party. But a rival alliance of parties on the right, left and centre looking to unseat him also ​has no clear path to power, suggesting months of political stalemate with Netanyahu potentially at the helm of a caretaker government.