A record number of Israelis have cast their ballots in the first half of polling day, voting at polling stations across the country and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. By 2pm local time, 44.9% of voters had cast their ballot – the highest turnout since record-keeping began in the 1970s. The main candidates are Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister and leader of the Likud party, and Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party. It is Israel’s first national election since the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023