Israel election live updates: Netanyahu battles to stay in power as voters head to the polls

Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot is the prime minister’s strongest rival in the first nationwide election since the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir cast his vote at a polling station in Kiryat Arba, a settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Ben Gvir is the head of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party on which Netanyahu may again depend if he is to remain in power.

Itamar Ben Gvir, accompanied by his wife Ayala, outside a polling station this morning. Ilia Yefimovich / AFP via Getty

Ben Gvir has laid out plans for what he says would be the “voluntary” emigration of around 2 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, where he has advocated for re-building Jewish settlements.

Ilia Yefimovich / AFP via Getty Images

Israelis this morning are voting in an election being closely watched in the United States.

Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot claim the future of Israel and its security is at stake. Netanyahu has played up his close ties to President Donald Trump in the final days of the race, and a Netanyahu victory could mean the war in Iran they launched together could intensify again.

The candidate…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health