Israelis have changed. Will they change their leadership? — SkimNews
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- Israel holds elections Tuesday, pitting Netanyahu and his far-right, ultranationalist and religious coalition against former military chief Eisenkot, whose center-right opposition promises more diplomacy and less extremism; tens of thousands of expats are expected to return because Israel has no absentee voting.
- Abu Zaida said he relayed a Hamas message threatening an “earthquake” to Israeli intelligence before Oct. 7; the United Arab Emirates’ leader and Egypt’s intelligence chief relayed similar warnings, while Netanyahu denies he was warned and has not admitted responsibility.
- Israel’s military response to Oct. 7 killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and left most of Gaza destroyed; Netanyahu faces an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.
- Amos Harel said Netanyahu sought to shift blame for the Oct. 7 failure to the security services and military; former officials also alleged that Netanyahu prolonged the two-year war for political reasons, which he denied.
- Nearly 19,000 Israeli soldiers have been newly diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or related illnesses, while nearly 300,000 young veterans were ordered back into reserve service after Oct. 7.
- The 2025 Israeli polls found that more than 67% of Israelis were not very troubled by Gaza’s suffering in July, while more than 60% believed there were no innocent people there in August.
- Anat Saragusti said Channel 12 once covered Gaza’s complexity, but after Oct. 7 most Israeli media did not show Palestinian journalists’ daily reporting of deaths, forced displacement, starvation and misery.
Why it matters: Netanyahu and Eisenkot are competing for an electorate hardened by Gaza but acutely conscious of war’s domestic cost: more than 67% are not very troubled by Palestinian suffering, while nearly 19,000 soldiers have newly developed PTSD. The election therefore places Gaza policy, military service and Israel’s global isolation on one ballot.
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