PoliticsIsrael election turnout reaches 31.5% by noon, highest since 1973

Voting is under way in Israel’s first election since the Hamas attack on October 7 three years ago triggered the Gaza war. Turnout had reached 31.5% by local noon, a record level for that point in polling day. Opinion polls show a close contest between Benjamin Netanyahu and Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, a former defence chief.